LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

GIFT    OF 


rV.V* cK^/vU/WCr.^ 

Class 


Published  by  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  27  &  29  West  23d  St.,  New  York 
A  SERIES  OF  SEVEN  VOLUMES  CONTAINING  A  SYSTEM  OF 

COMPARATIVE    AESTHETICS. 

By  GEO.  L.  RAYMOND,  L.H.D., 

PROFESSOR   OF    ^ESTHETICS,    PRINCETON    AND   GEORGE   WASHINGTON    UNIVERSITIES. 

"We  consider  Professor  Raymond  to  possess  something  like  an  ideal  equipment  for  the 
line  of  work  he  has  entered  upon.  His  own  poetry  is  genuine  and  delicately  constructed,  his 
appreciations  are  true  to  high  ideals,  and  his  power  of  scientific  analysis  is  unquestionable." 
.  .  .  He  "was  known,  when  a  student  at  Williams,  as  a  musician  and  a  poet — tne  latter  be- 
cause of  taking,  in  his  freshman  year,  a  prize  in  verse  over  the  whole  college.  After  gradu- 
ating in  this  country,  he  went  through  a  course  in  aesthetics  with  Professor  Vischer  of  the 
University  of  Tubingen,  and  also  with  Professor  Curtius  at  the  time  when  that  historian  of 
Greece  was  spending  several  hours  a  week  with  his  pupils  among  the  marbles  of  the  Berlin  Mu- 
seum. Subsequently,  believing  that  all  the  arts  are,  primarily,  developments  of  different  . 
forms  of  expression  through  the  tones  and  movements  of  the  body,  Professor  Raymond  made 
a  thorough  study,  chiefly  in  Paris,  of  methods  of  cultivating  and  using  the  voice  in  both  sing- 
ing and  speaking,  and  of  representing  thought  and  emotion  through  postures  and  gestures. 
It  is  a  result  of  these  studies  that  he  afterwards  developed,  first,  into  his  methods  of  teaching 
elocution  and  literature"  (as  embodied  in  his  'Orator's  Manual'  and  'The  Writer')  "and  later 
into  his  aesthetic  system.  ...  A  Princeton  man  has  said  of  him  that  he  has  as  keen  a  sense 
for  a  false  poetic  element  as  a  bank  expert  for  a  counterfeit  note;  and  a  New  York  model  who 
posed  for  him,  when  preparing  illustrations  for  one  of  his  books,  said  that  he  was  the  only 
man  that  he  had  ever  met  who  could  invariably,  without  experiment,  tell  him  at  once  what' 
posture  to  assume  in  order  to  represent  any  required  sentiment.'' — New  York  Times. 

I—Art  in  Theory.    8vo,  cloth  extra          ....         $1.75 
Analyzes  art  and  beauty,  and  the  different  formulated  theories 
concerning  them. 

"A  well  grounded,  thoroughly  supported,  and  entirely  artistic  conception  of  art  as  a 
whole,  that  will  lead  observers  to  apply  its  principles  .  .  .  and  to  distrust  the  charlatanism 
that  imposes  an  idle  and  superficial  mannerism  upon  the  public  in  place  of  true  beauty  and 
honest  workmanship." — The  New  York  Times. 

"A  book  like  this  is  especially  welcome  at  the  present  day,  when  the  plague  of  putrid 
anaemia  is  wasting  the  very  substance  of  mind,  when  in  literature  egoism  dominates,  and  in  art 
impressionism,  to  the  exclusion  in  the  one  case  of  truth  and  in  the  other  of  thought.  We 
cordially  recommend  this  book  to  all  who  desire  to  import  something  of  deliberation  and  ac- 
curacy into  their  thinking  about  matters  of  art." — The  (London)  Realm. 

.  "His  style   is  good,   and  his  logic   sound,   and  ...  of  the  greatest   possible  service  to   the 
student    of    artistic    theories."-— A rt   Journal    (London). 

"Scores  an  advance  upon  the  many  art-criticisms  extant.  .  .  .  Twenty  brilliant  chapters, 
pregnant  with  suggestion.  .  .  .  An  author  not  bound  by  mental  servitude." — Popular  Science 
Monthly. 

"Every  careful  reader  must  be  delighted  at  the  handling  of  the  subject  at  once  so  har- 
monious and  symmetrical  as  well  as  natural.  ...  It  appears  in  a  form  which  one  may  almost 
call  artistic  in  itself." — The  Dial,  signed  by  E.  E.  Hale,  Jr. 

"The  work  is  one  that  has  been  inspired  by  the  true  spirit  of  aestheticism — a  genuine 
'art-inspiration.'  By  nature  the  author  is  himself  an  artist.  His  books  have  been  freely  criti- 
cised, but  the  breadth  of  his  thought  and  knowledge,  the  combined  assurance  and  subtlety  of 
his  reasoning,  his  suggestiveness  and  enthusiasm  must  be  allowed  by  his  keenest  reviewers." 
— New  Haren  Register. 

"Professor  Raymond  is  doing  a  genuine  service  by  these  profound  and  fascinating  books. 
He  raises  the  standard  of  intelligence  upon  art  subjects  by  a  considerable  measure.  He 
helps  make  the  United  States  more  ready  for  the  day  when  true  art  shall  abound  much  more 
widely,  and  be  understood  much  more  clearly." — Public  Opinion. 

II — The  Representative  Significance  of  Form,  8vo, cloth  extra,  $2.00 
Considers  thought  and  emotion  as  attributable  to  aatural  forms 
and  to  subconscious  and  conscious  mental  action,  and  to  genius  and 
acquired  skill  in  religion,  science,  and  art,  and  to  the  epic,  realistic, 
and  dramatic  in  each  art. 

"A  ripe  work  of  a  ripe  scholar.  Professor  Raymond  recalls  the  two  incomplete  tendencies 
in  art;  the  first,  that  of  'the  transcendentalists,  who  confounded  artistic  inspiration  with  reli- 
gious inspiration,  and  the  second,  that  of  the  French  school,  which  confuses  artistic  observation 
with  scientific  observation.  In  these  twenty-seven  solid  chapters,  the  author  has  struggled 
with  the  tremendous  task  of  restoring  that  balance  between  these  two  extremes  which  charac- 
terizes the  highest  art.  The  latter  part  of  the  volume  is  especially  satisfactory  owing  to  the 
clear  manner  in  which  the  definitions  and  characteristics  of  epic,  realistic,  and  dramatic  art, 


Published  by  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  27  &  29  West  23d  St.,  New  York 

together  with  their  various  subdivisions  in  the  different  arts,  are  made  to  seem  inevitable." — 
Boston  Transcript. 

"It  is  a  very  scholarly  study  of  a  most  interesting  and  important  tonic.  s  It  is  a  careful 
investigation  of  the  sources  of  human  conceptions,  religious,  scientific,  and  artistic,  and  of  the 
artistic  forms  through  which  these  conceptions  find  appropriate  expression.  The  book  is  evi- 
dently the  ripe  fruit  of  years  of  patient  and  exhaustive  study  on  the  part  of  a  man  singularly 
fitted  for  his  task.  It  is  profound  in  insight,  searching  in  analysis,  broad  in  spirit,  and  thor- 
oughly modern  in  method  and  sympathy.  The  first  and  more  strictly  philosophical  part  of 
the  work  cannot  fail  to  be  helpful  to  ministers  who  are  trying  to  deal  with  the  great  problems 
of  theology  as  they  present  themselves  today." — The  Universalist  Leader. 

"Its  title  gives  no  intimation  to  the  general  reader  of  its  attractiveness  for  him,  or  to 
curious  readers  of  its  widely  discursive  range  of  interest.  ...  Its  broad  range  may  remind 
one  of  those  scythe-bearing  chariots  with  which  the  ancient  Persians  used  to  mow  down  hostile 
files.  The  writer  must  be  conceded  an  equal  liberty  of  spreading  with  the  warrior,  and  Pro- 
fessor Raymond  has  availed  himself  of  it  with  good  reason,  to  the  fullest  extent.  .  .  .  Profes- 
sor Raymond's  endeavor  in  his  whole  work  is  to  get  toward  that  balance  between  .  .  .  oppos- 
ing tendencies  which  characterized  ancient  Hellenic  art.  Cut  this  demands  a  correct  recogni- 
tion both  of  the  relationship  of  art  alike  to  religion  and  to  science,  and  of  the  limitations  to 
art  which  the  double  relationship  involves.  Nothing  can  be  foreign  to  a  thorough  treatment 
of  aesthetics  that  is  needed  to  bring  out  the  facts  which  define  and  establish  this  relationship 
and  the  discriminations  it  requires.  .  .  .  Professor  Raymond  seems  justified  in  his  insistence 
on  a  larger  recognition  of  the  subconscious  activity  of  the  mind  as  the  condition  of  a  revival 
of  art  and  equally  of  the  relief  of  religion  from  a  deadening  materialism  and  a  stifling  tradi- 
tionalism. ...  In  all  departments  truth  is  the  product  of  an  activity  which  is  blended  of 
conscious  and  subconscious  factors.  Here  he  comes  on  ground  which  some  will  question,  but 
he  does  not  go  beyond  what  conservative  investigators  in  the  field  of  psychical  research  regard 
as  satisfactorily  established." — The  Outlook. 

"An  original  thinker  and  writer,  the  charm  of  his  style  and  clearness  of  expression  make 
Mr.  Raymond's  book  possible  to  the  general  reader,  though  worthy  of  the  study  of  the  student 
and  scholar.  He  proclaims  the  truth  as  he  finds  it,  and  in  view  of  the  sceptical  and  material- 
istic tendencies  of  most  scientific  criticism,  it  is  not  an  unimportant  task  which  he  has  per- 
formed,— that  of  showing  that  all  that  is  needed  for  the  highest  spiritual  stimulus,  all  that  is 
vital  to  practical  religion  can  command  acknowledgment  and  acceptance  upon  its  own  merits." 
— Hartford  Courant. 

"A  valuable  essay.  .  .  While  .  .  .  far  from  being  so  metaphysical  as  to  be  unreadable  or 
lacking  in  concrete  teaching,  it  deals  with  general  principles  and  moves  in  a  highly  rarefied 
atmosphere  of  speculation.  It  is  really  in  effect  a  treatise  on  the  meaning  of  artistic  meaning 
.  .  .  Professor  Raymond  goes  so  deep  into  causes  as  to  explore  the  subconscious  and  the  un- 
conscious mind  for  a  solution  of  his  problems,  and  eloquently  to  range  through  the  conceptions 
of  religion,  science  and  metaphysics  in  order  to  find  fixed  principles  of  taste.  .  .  .  He  gives 
the  matter  a  highly  interesting  discussion  from  which  a  student  will  derive  ...  a  strong  and 
healthy  stimulus  to  independent  reflection." — The  Scotsman  (Edinburgh). 

Ill— Poetry  as  a  Representative  Art.    Fully  illustrated  with  quota- 
tions from  the  foremost  poets.     8vo,  cloth  extra       .       .       $i-75 

"A  remarkable  work,  alike  for  the  completeness  with  which  a  very  comprehensive  subject 
is  treated,  and  for  an  acuteness  and  originally  which  open  up  new  relations  and  applications 
that  render  the  scope  of  the  subject  still  more  extensive.  The  technique  of  versification,  the 
rhetoric  of  poetical  composition,  and  the  mutual  bearings  of  the  two,  have  received  no  lack  of 
attention;  but  we  know  of  no  book  to  be  compared  with  this,  in  bringing  the  whole  into  unity 
as  distinctively  a  'representative  art.7  .  .  .  We  can  promise  the  reader  that  he  will  find  it  lu- 
minous and  interesting.  ...  We  hail  this  work  as  a  great  contribution  to  clear  thought.  .  .  . 
Mere  sentiment  or  imagination  will  not  constitute  the  poet  (par  excellence,  'the  maker')  any 
more  than  sensitiveness  to  color  and  harmony  and  form  will  furnish  a  painter,  a  musician,  a 
sculptor,  or  an  architect.  It  is  the  ignoring  of  the  fact  that  poetry  is  equally  an  art  of  repre- 
sentation, the  picturing,  and  modeling,  and  singing  of  thoughts  and  feelings  by  visible  and 
audible  symbols,  which  accounts  for  the  failure  of  many  a  promising  aspirant  for  the  bays." — 
Christian  Intelligencer. 

"The  scope  of  his  work  embraces  every  relation  of  poetry  to  language  and  to  sentiment. 
The  author's  plan  is  an  exhaustive  one;  his  manner  of  working  it  out  shows  a  thorough  study 
of  his  subject  and  an  astonishing  familiarity  with  the  whole  range  of  English  poetry.  .  .  .  crit- 
ically examined.  The  student  of  literature  will  find  the  book  worthy  of  exhaustive  study.  — 
Philadelphia  Inquirer. 

"I  have  read  it  with  pleasure,  and  a  sense  of  instruction  on  many  points." — Francis 
Turner  Palgrave,  Professor  of  Poetry,  Oxford  University. 

"Dieses  ganz  vortreffliche  Werk."- — Englishche  Studien,    Universtitat  Breslau. 

"An  acute,  interesting,  and  brilliant  piece  of  work.  ...  As  a  whole,  the  essay  deserves 
unqualified  praise.  If  every  poetic  aspirant  could  learn  it  by  heart,  the  amount  of  versifying 
might  be  reduced  by  a  half,  and  the  amount  of  poetry  increased  by  a  larger  ratio.  ...  It  ap- 
plies the  test  under  whose  touch  the  dull  line  fails.  It  goes  further  than  this,  and  furnishes 
the  key  to  settle  the  vexed  questions  as  to  moralizing  and  didactic  verse,  and  the  dangerous 
terms  on  which  sense  and  sound  meet  in  verse." — N.  Y.  Independent. 

"Treats  a  broad  and  fertile  subject  with  scholarly  proficiency  and  earnestness,  and  an 
amplitude  and  exactness  of  illustration  that  makes  his  work  definitely  and  clearly  explicit.  — 
New  Orleans  Times-Democrat. 

"The  work  will  be  welcomed,  must  be  studied,  and  will  grow  upon  the  schools  as  it  is 
appreciated." — Journal  of  Education. 


Published  by  G.P.  Putnam's  Sons,  27  &  29  West  23d  St.,  New  York 

"Certainly  of  its  kind,  nothing  has  been  offered  the  American  public  so  excellent  as  this. 
Professor  Raymond  has  thorough  insight,  a  complete  mastery  of  critical  style,  and  a  thorough 
acquaintance  with  the  poets.  He  has  produced  something  that  must  live." — Hartford  Post. 

"The  results  are  the  most  important  ones  yet  attained  in  its  department,  and,  we  believe, 
the  most  valuable." — Boston  Globe. 

"Professor  Raymond  has  rendered  a  valuable  service  to  literary  criticism.  There  is  un- 
doubtedly far  less  general  knowledge  of  the  canons  of  poetic  art  than  there  is  of  the  princi- 
ples underlying  painting  and  sculpture.  Yet  there  are  absolute  and  attainable  standards  of 
poetic  excellence,  and  upon  these  may  be  founded  a  system  of  criticism.  Such  standards  can- 
not, of  course,  altogether  be  taught  .  .  .  but  their  underlying  principles  can  be  taught,  and, 
perhaps,  they  have  never  been  so  well  set  forth  as  by  Professor  Raymond." — Boston  Traveller. 

"A  profound,  and,  as  nearly  as  may  be,  a  satisfactory  natural  history  of  poetry  itself. 
The  reason  of  poetry,  its  right  to  be,  and  the  sources  of  its  power  will  stand  out  clearly  before 
the  mind  of  the  reader.  .  .  .  The  study  of  Professor  Raymond's  volume  by  the  rising  genera- 
tion of  preachers  would  go  far  toward  endowing  the  sermon  of  the  immediate  future  with  a 
high  ana  chaste  literary  quality." — Presbyterian  Review. 

IV— Painting1,  Sculpture,  and  Architecture  as  Representative  Arts. 

With  225  illustrations,  8vo $2.50 

"Expression  by  means  of  extension  or  size  .  .  .  shape  .  .  .  regularity  in  outlines  .  .  . 
the  human  body  .  .  .  posture,  gesture,  and  movement  .  .  .  are  all  considered.  ...  A 
specially  interesting  chapter  is  the  one  on  color.  .  .  .  The  author  has  worked  out  his  theory 
logically  and  minutely;  the  book  is  one  for  careful  study." — Current  Literature. 

"As  a  matter  of  necessity  such  a  work  must  be  more  or  less  technical,  but  the  author,  in 
this  instance,  has  succeeded  in  freeing  himself,  to  a  great  extent,  from  all  technical  words 
and  phrases,  thereby  making  his  book  much  more  acceptable  to  the  general  reader.  Each 
thought  is  exemplified  by  illustrations  so  judiciously  selected  that  even  the  uninitiated  can 
readily  grasp  the  meaning  .  .  .  helping  ...  to  better  understand  and  appreciate  art,  while  to 
the  student  it  will  prove  of  absorbing  interest." — Cincinnati  Commercial  Gazette. 

"The  volume  is  one  of  great  value  to  the  student  of  art  for  art's  sake.  It  is  profusely 
illustrated." — Boston  Transcript. 

"The  artist  will  find  in  it  a  wealth  of  profound  and  varied  learning;  of  original,  sugges- 
tive, and  most  helpful  thought  ...  of  absolutely  inestimable  value.  He  will  perceive  more 
perfectly  than  ever  before  the  representative  character  of  art,  and  how  it  can  be  used  as  a 
medium  of  human  thought  and  emotion." — The  Looker-on. 

"The  work  combines  to  a  rare  degree  the  excellences  of  the  scholar,  the  artist,  and  the 
philosopher.  Mr.  Raymond  is  not  an  imitator.  His  work  is  his  own,  and  his  broadness  of 
view  and  logical  presentation  of  his  facts  and  theories  make  his  books  memorable  contributions 
to  the  literature  of  aesthetics." — Portland  (Me.)  Transcript. 

"The  whole  book  is  the  work  of  a  man  of  exceptional  thoughtfulness,  who  says  what  he 
has  to  say  in  a  remarkably  lucid  and  direct  manner." — The  Philadelphia  Press. 

V— The  Genesis  of  Art-Form.    Fully  illustrated.    8vo  .       .    $2.25 

"In  a  spirit  at  once  scientific  and  that  of  the  true  artist,  he  pierces  through  the  manifes- 
tations of  art  to  their  sources,  and  shows  the  relations,  intimate  and  essential,  between  paint- 
ing, sculpture,  poetry,  music,  and  architecture.  A  book  that  possesses  not  only  singular  value, 
but  singular  charm." — N.  Y.  Times. 

"This  book  is  one  whose  usefulness  cannot  be  exhausted  in  any  one  line  of  art,  but  ap- 
plies to  all.  It  is  equally  useful  for  the  student  of  prose,  poetry,  and  rhetoric.  It  will  enrich 
and  deepen  his  conceptions  of  the  principles  of  art-form  as  applied  to  language  and  his  ability 
to  apply  them.  For  all  kinds  of  large  criticism  as  concerned  with  art  in  any  department,  it  is 
a  book  of  great  merit." — The  Independent. 

"A  help  and  a  delight.  Every  aspirant  for  culture  in  any  of  the  liberal  arts,  including 
music  and  poetry,  will  find  something  in  this  book  to  aid  him." — Boston  Times. 

"The  work  is  one  which  the  art-student  will  enjoy,  while  the  veriest  novice  cannot  read  it 
without  learning  something  that  he  ought  to  know.  ' — Rochester  Herald. 

"It  is  the  production  of  an  expert  who,  although  a  specialist,  is  broad  in  his  knowledge 
and  sympathetic  in  his  applications.  ...  It  is  eminently  a  suggestive,  stimulating  work,  and 
many  young  readers  will  thank  the  author  not  only  for  the  facts  and  principles  which  he  has  stated 
and  illustrated,  but  also  for  a  powerful  and  healthful  impulse  in  uplifting  directions." — 
Boston  Congregationalist. 

"In  the  same  lucid,  straightforward  style  is  Professor  Raymond's  essay  on  comparative 
aesthetics.  So  much  has  been  \yritten  about  art  in  the  obscure,  enigmatic  way  that  relief  from 
it  is  a  kind  of  pleasure.  .  .  .  Simplicity  can  be  noble,  grand,  and  effective,  and  he  who  reads 
these  books  will  never  suffer  the  misgivings  the  old  grandiloquence  .  .  .  was  quite  likely  to 
provoke  as  to  the  effectual  value  of  any  art-criticism.  .  .  .  'The  Genesis  of  Art-Form'  is  a 
contribution  to  thought.  ...  It  is  his  theory  that  the  great  masters  pursued  the  methods 
pointed  out,  but  not  knowingly,  perhaps." — The  Providence  Journal. 

"It  is  impossible  to  withhold  one's  admiration  froni  a  treatise  which  exhibits  in  such  a 
rare  degree  the  qualities  of  philosophic  criticism." — Philadelphia  Press. 

VI— Rhythm  and  Harmony  in  Poetry  and  Music.     Together  with 
Music  as  a  Representative  Art.    8vo,  cloth  extra       .       $1.75 

"The  author  covers  the  whole  ground  of  poetics,  including  scansion  and  verse-forms,  antl 
explains  the  means  by  which  poetic  effects  are  attained  by  the  use  of  variety  in  measure  and 


Published  by  G.P.Putnamjjons,  27  &  29  West  23d  St.,New  Yoi 

line  alliteration,  etc.  .  .  The  historical  origin  and  development  of  the  musical  scale  furn 
ma'enal  for  an  interesting  chanter,  while  several  others  are  devoted  to  the  means  of  exprt 
ing  ideas  through "music  .  .  -  illustrated  by  motives  from  various  operas.  The  book  is  full 

^Spjid  ^here-ld^T  wo^d  Lm  ^thfreader  as  if  detail  had  run  itself  i, 
neaiiinffless  fragments,  or  as  if  the  author's  theory  were  overburdened  with  trivial  illust 
tTons  but  r'ead  though  from  beginning  to  end,  the  cook  shows  solid  thinking,  sound  positio 
and  iiat  significance  in  the  details  which  prove  them.  —N  Y.  Observer. 

KThe  analysis  js.  at  times,  so  subtle  as  to  be  almost  beyond  the  reach  of  words,  but  t 
author's  grasp  of  his  subject  nowhere  slackens,  and  the  quiet  flow  of  the  style  remains  i 
clouded  in  expressing  even  the  most  intricate  phases  of  his  argument.  .  .  .  No  treatment  cov 
be  freer  from  technicalities  or  word- juggling,  hven  to  a  mind  unprepared  for  the  close  r 
son.ng  of  some  parts  of  the  book,  as  a  whole  it  will  be  stimulating  with  that  large  suggesti 
m-  that  accompanies  a  widening  of  the  mental  horizon."— Portland  Oregoman. 

"Pn.fessor  Raymond  has  chosen  a  delightful  subject,  and  he  treats  it  with  all  the  chai 
of  narrative  and  high  thought  and  profound  study."— New  Orleans  States. 

"In  other  wavs  Professor  Raymond's  book  calls  for  high  praise,  and  in  nothing  more  th 
for  the  gallant  way  in  which  he  stands  for  higher  ideals  in  art  than  those  which  are  popul 
in  these  days." — Springfield  Republican. 

"The  reader  must  be,  indeed,  a  person  either  of  supernatural  stupidity  or  of  marvello 
erudition,  who  docs  not  discover  much  information  in  Professor  Raymond  s  exhaustive  a 
instructive  treatise.  From  page  to  page  it  is  full  of  suggestion.  — T  he  Academy  (London) 

Vii— Proportion  and  Harmony  of  Line  and  Color  in  Paintir- 
Sculpture,  and  Architecture.    Fully  illustrated,  8vo    .     $2  ' 

"Marked  by  profound  thought  along  lines  unfamiliar  to  most  readers  and  thinkers. 
When  grasped,  however,   it  becomes  a  source  of  great  enjoyment  and  exhilaration.  .  .  . 
study  of  human  proportions  and  measurements  is  particularly  interesting,  as  showing  the 
and  congruity  in  nature's  handiwork.     He  would  show  us  that  the  same  unity  and  order  . 
characterize  all   works  of  art.   ...   It   is  addressed   to   the   practical   artist   who   paints.   '• 
models  clay,  or   writes  music,   yet  is   of  equal   value  to  the  critical   student  of  art   who   \v. 
form  his  judgment  of  the  world's  productions  in  art  on  sound  lines.      In  short,  no  critical  p 
son  can  afford  to  ignore  so  valuable  a  contribution  to  the  art-thought  of  the  day  as  Profes 
Raymond  has  given  us  in  this  series  of  volumes." — The  Art-Interchange    (N.   Y.). 

"The  book  is  comprehensive  and  particular.  It  is  scientific  and  mathematical  to  the  c' 
without  destroying  the  beauty  of  the  creations  it  analyzes.  It  is,  above  all,  logical  and  met 
odical,  maintaining  its  argument  and  carrying  along  from  one  subject  to  another  the  dedu 
lions  which  have  preceded.  The  luminous  treatment  ...  is  one  of  the  triumphs  of  the  boc 
and  the  application  of  the  theories  expounded  .  .  .  will  arouse  discussion  in  every  ai 
school.  The  closing  chapter  sums  up  the  results  of  the  seven  volumes  of  the  series,  and 
worthy  of  mention  as  condensing  the  conclusions  of  seven  highly  technical  volumes  into 
few  pages.  .  .  .  For  scholar  and  specialist,  and  as  books  of  reference,  the  series  is  imal.iab 
and  the  present  volume  stands  high  in  it  for  its  plain  and  convincing  statement  of  a  great 
involved  subject." — Portland  (Me.)  Transcript. 

"The  fruit  of  profound  study  and  observation  that  cannot  but  be  of  the  greatest  aid  t 
true  conception  of  what  is  truly  artistic,  and  to  the  forming  of  a  correct  taste.     It  is  a  learii 
and  luminous  criticism   of  methods,  and  a  most  profound  analysis  of  the  effects  of  proportic 
and  harmony  when  properly  employed.     The  thoroughness  and  clearness  with  which  it  is  dc 
will  be  surprising  to  the  layman,  and  canno^  but  open  the  eyes  of  even  the  professional  artis4 
to  a  new  importance  and  new  possibilities  in   the  subjects  treated.      The  author  brushes  asid 
all  schools  and  all  fashions  of  art  and  goes  to  the  root  of  the  subject — the  production  of  th; 
proportion  and  harmony  in  form  which  shall  be  permanently  dignified,  noble,  and  pleasing  i 
the  human  eye.     Every  suitable  example  of  ancient  or  modern  art  is  drawn  upon   for  illustr; 
tion,  and  all  the  elements  of  form  which  constitute  the  greatness  of  the  world's  masterpiece 
explained.     The  text  is  aided  by  hundreds  of  illustrations  and  diagrams." — Pittsburg   lime. 

"The  author  has  covered  this  fascinating  field  as  no  other  writer,  so  far  as  known  to  th 
Hawk-Eye,  has  ever  attempted,  and  he  Has  brought  to  his  task  a  ripeness  of  scholarship  and 
terseness  of  expression  that  give  to  his  themes  a  special  charm  even  to  those  readers  whom  h 
leads   into   hitherto   untrodden   pathways.      One   does   not   need   to  be   a   scholar   to   follow 
scholar  as  he  teaches  while  seeming  to  entertain;   for  he  does  both." — Burlington  Hawk- 

"The  artist  who  wishes  to  penetrate  the  mysteries  of  color,  the  sculptor  who  desires  i 
cultivate  his  sense  of  proportion,  or  the  architect  whose  ambition  is  to  reach  to  a  high  standar 
will  find  the  work  helpful  and  inspiring." — Boston  Transcript. 

"The  philosophy  underlying  and  permeating  the  whole  structure  of  this  intelligent  ar 
criticism  should  be  given,  in  and  out  of  educational  institutions,  the  widest  possible  publicitj 
Like  others  of  Professor  Raymond's  series,  it  will  be  found  a  mine  of  original,  suggestive 
and  helpful  thought." — Boston  Globe. 

The  Essentials  of  ^Esthetics.    Fully  illustrated,  8vo  $2.5( 

A  compendium  of  the  preceding  volumes,  designed  as  a  Text-Book 

"So  lucid  in  expression  and  rich  in  illustration  that  every  page  contains  matter  of  dee 
interest  even  to  the  general  reader." — Boston  Herald. 

"It  can  hardly  fail  to  make  talent  more  rational,  genius  more  conscious  of  the  principle 
ft  art.  MM  the  critic  and  connoisseur  better  equipped  for  impression,  judgment  and  appraise 
ment." — New  York  Times. 


THE    PSYCHOLOGY 
OF    INSPIRATION 


ATTEMPT  TO  DISTINGUISH  RELIGIOUS  FROM  SCIEN- 
TIFIC TRUTH  AND  TO  HARMONIZE  CHRISTI- 
ANITY WITH  MODERN  THOUGHT 


BY 


GEORGE  LANSING  RAYMOND 


FUNK  AND  WAGNALLS  COMPANY 

gorfe  anb  Honfcon 

1908 


v 

OF  THE 


:NIVERSiTY 
/ 


COPYRIGHT,  1907,  BY 

FUNK   &  WAGNALLS  COMPANY 
Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America. 
Published,  December,  1907. 


PREFACE 

Near  the  end  of  a  life  which  began  with  a  theo- 
logical training,  but  has  been  spent  mainly  as  a  pro- 
fessor in  college  or  university,  I  find  myself  with  this 
book  prepared  for  publication.  Some  of  it  was  written 
several  years  ago;  some  of  it  has  been  written  re- 
cently, but  the  whole  has  been  carefully  revised.  It 
is  the  outgrowth  of  an  endeavor — exceptional,  as  is 
thought,  in  its  processes,  tho  not  in  its  purposes — to 
find  a  way  in  which  all  that  is  essential  to  the  methods 
and  results  of  scientific  and  historic  research  can  be 
accepted,  while,  at  the  same  time,  nothing  that  is  es- 
sential to  the  theory  or  practise  of  religion  need  be 
rejected.  That,  in  our  age,  any  endeavor  with  this 
object  in  view  is  deserving  of  the  effort  expended 
upon  it  requires  no  arguing. 

A  few  months  ago  I  was  dining  beside  a  scholar  who 
presides  over  one  of  the  foremost  educational  institu- 
tions of  New  England.  "Why  is  it,"  I  asked  him, 
"that  Andover  Seminary  has  so  few  students?" 
"Mainly,"  he  answered,  "because  the  New  England 
colleges  have  so  few  who  want  to  study  theology." 
"Yes,"  I  said,  "they  are  waiting  for  my  book." 
"What  book?"  he  asked.  "Mine,  or  some  other,"  I 
answered,  "written  to  show  that  a  man  can  be  both 
an  out-and-out  Christian  and  a  thorough  scientist; 

iii 


17469.3 


IV 


PREFACE 


can  exercise  to  the  full  both  faith  and  rationality;  can 
be  bound  to  a  church  for  his  support,  yet  be  free  in  his 
methods  of  thinking."  "A  hard  thing  to  prove,"  he 
said.  "Yes,"  I  replied,  "but  it  must  be  proved  by 
some  one,  or  else  religion  itself  can  not  hold  the  ap- 
proval of  most  of  us."  Then  I  explained  that,  for 
years,  while  occupying  a  professorship  necessarily 
bringing  me  into  close  relations  with  students  profi- 
cient in  oratory,  I  had  noticed  a  gradual  decrease  in 
the  proportionate  number  and  quality  of  those  enter- 
ing the  Christian  ministry,  altho  many  failing  to  do  so 
had  seemed  not  only  particularly  fitted  for  success  in 
it,  but  particularly  unfitted,  intellectually,  morally,  or 
spiritually,  for  following  with  satisfaction  to  them- 
selves any  other  calling.*  Their  turning  from  the 

*  The  following  enumeration  of  students  and  graduates  in  theological  semi- 
naries of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  United  States,  as  reported  to  the  General 
Assembly  for  the  years  1895  and  1907,  was  printed  in  The  Princeton  (N.  J.)  Press 
of  September  28,  1907,  under  the  signature  of  Rev.  Lewis  W.  Mudge,  D.D. 


Students. 

Graduates. 

1895 

1907 

1896 

1907 

Princeton  

264 
112 
100 
29 
24 
208 
31 
39 
61 
40 
19 
23 

178 
62 
72 
38 
42 
106 
12 
11 
22 
51 
19 
26 

78 
42 
32 
6 
3 
78 
14 
5 
8 
9 
5 
8 

44 
20 
21 

9 

27 

-2 
2 
16 

7 

Auburn  

Western                         .               .    . 

Lane 

Kentucky  

McCormick 

San  Francisco  
German  Dubuque.    .    .                            .    . 

German  Newark 

Lincoln  
Biddle         

Omaha 

Totals 

950 

639 

288 

155 

These  figures  are  still  more  significant  in  view  of  the  great  increase,  during  these 
twelve  years,  in  the  total  population  of  the  country  and  of  the  yet  greater  pro- 
portionate increase  in  the  number  of  those  attending  the  colleges  from  which  the 
students  of  Presbyterian  seminaries  are  drawn. 


PREFACE  V 

ministry,  I  said,  so  far  as  they  had  given  expression 
to  that  which  had  influenced  them,  had  seemed  due 
less  to  any  lack  of  sympathy  with  religion  in  general 
than  to  a  repugnance  to  becoming  special  pleaders 
and  hired  advocates  of  what  appealed  to  them  as  a 
narrow  and  biased,  and,  so  far,  uncourageous  and  un- 
manly method  of  accepting  and  interpreting  religious 
dogmas  and  practises.  Such  being  the  case,  I  exprest 
to  my  neighbor  my  conception  of  the  importance  of 
one  of  the  objects  to  be  undertaken  in  this  book — 
namely,  the  removing  of  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
those  whose  mental  attitude  is  that  of  the  students 
just  described. 

The  serious  reader  will  ask,  at  once,  whether  this 
undertaking  is  feasible;  whether  what  is  proposed  can 
be  done  in  any  such  way  as  to  do  justice  to  all  the  re- 
quirements of  religion.  If  it  can  not  be  so  done, 
then,  of  course,  this  book  must  prove  a  failure.  It 
will  merely  add  one  more  volume  to  the  many,  already 
too  numerous,  in  which  the  spiritual  is  ignored  for  the 
sake  of  the  comprehensible,  or  the  comprehensible  for 
the  sake  of  the  spiritual.  This  book  can  prove  a  suc- 
cess in  the  degree  alone  in  which  neither  of  these  is 
ignored,  but  each  is  credited  with  the  influence  legiti- 
mate to  it,  and  this  in  its  entirety.  But  if  it  be  feasi- 
ble to  attain  such  a  result,  so  stated,  why  has  it  not 
been  attained  before?  One  reason  is  that  it  has  not 
before  been  demanded,  or,  at  least,  not  as  universally 
as  at  present.  Another  reason  is  that  the  facts  from 


vi  PREFACE 

which  deductions  such  as  are  to  be  presented  in  this 
book  can  be  logically  drawn  had  not  been  studied, 
were  not  understood,  and,  presumably,  could  not  have 
been  conceived  by  the  theologians  of  even  the  last 
century,  to  say  nothing  of  men  like  Calvin  or  Luther, 
or  like  Augustine  or  Aquinas. 

At  the  same  time  it  is  somewhat  remarkable  that, 
even  in  such  circumstances,  some  of  the  conclusions 
indicated  in  the  pages  that  follow  have  not  already 
been  more  widely  recognized  than  is  the  case.  Most 
of  our  Protestant  churches,  for  instance,  profess  to  ac- 
cept the  principles  underlying  the  Protestant  Refor- 
mation, especially  the  one  assigning  authority  to  the 
Christian  Scriptures,  and  the  one  asserting  the  right  of 
private  judgment  in  interpreting  these.  But  most  of 
our  Protestant  theologians  seem  reluctant,  at  least,  to 
admit  that  either  principle  should  be  carried  to  a 
logical  conclusion.  In  doing  this,  as  must  be  confest, 
they  are  faithfully  following  the  examples  set  by  both 
Calvin  and  Luther.  But  historians,  without  excep- 
tion, attribute  mainly  to  these  examples  the  sudden 
check  put,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  upon  the  prog- 
ress of  the  Reformation.  May  future  historians  be 
saved  from  attributing  to  the  same  a  like  check  put, 
in  the  twentieth  century,  upon  the  progress  of  all 
Christianity!  Why  is  the  danger  of  such  a  check  a 
present  menace?  Because  the  science  of  the  day 
trains  the  mind  to  be  candid  and  logical;  and  theology 
is  inclined  to  be  neither.  If,  for  instance,  two  pas- 


PREFACE  vii 

sages  of  Scripture  seem  to  conflict,  and  so  evidently, 
too,  that  every  thinking  mind  must  perceive  it,  the 
theologian,  instead  of  frankly  admitting  the  fact  and 
then  trying  to  find  a  theory  that  will  justify  it  as  a 
fact,  either  denies  that  it  is  a  fact,  or,  as  will  be  shown 
hereafter,  makes  only  one  of  the  two  passages  authori- 
tative.* Again,  while  admitting,  as  a  matter  of  theory, 
the  right  of  private  judgment,  he  by  no  means  al- 
ways acknowledges  it  in  practise,  especially  when  an- 
other's interpretation  of  Scripture  differs  greatly  from 
his  own.  No  one  can  deny  that  such  attitudes  of  mind 
tend  to  lessen  very  considerably  the  influence  of  the 
reformed  churches,  while,  at  the  same  time,  they  do 
not  strengthen  that  of  the  unreformed.  Those  in  the 
reformed  churches  desire,  as  a  rule,  not  less  but  more 
candor  and  logic,  which  is  exactly  what  the  unre- 
formed are  not  prepared  to  give  them;  and  those  in 
the  unreformed  churches,  if  affected  at  all  by  a  similar 
desire,  are  apt,  like  the  French  of  our  day,  to  look  for 
the  fulfilment  of  it  beyond  the  confines  of  any  church, 
even  reformed,  in  which  their  demands  can,  at  best, 
be  only  partly  met.  This  is  the  same  as  to  say  that, 
in  this  age  of  general  education  and  scientific  thinking, 
religion,  in  order  to  preserve  its  influence  over  men, 
must  be  prepared,  without  prevaricating  or  hedging, 
to  satisfy  all  the  requirements  of  the  rational  nature. 
One  object  of  the  treatise  that  follows  is  to  present  a 
theory  in  accordance  with  which  this  can  be  done 

*  See  pages  142,  106,  199,  307,  and  308. 


viii  PREFA  CE 

As  applied  to  practise,  the  aim  of  the  book  may  be 
illustrated  thus:  Some  time  ago  I  attended  a  meeting 
of  scientists.  As  I  looked  about  me  I  became  aware 
that,  so  far  as  I  knew,  not  one  of  those  present  was 
considered  by  himself  or  by  others  to  be  what  is  con- 
ventionally termed  religious.  Yet  in  the  unselfish, 
untiring  and  well-nigh  unrewarded  labor  that  every 
one  of  these  seemed  performing  for  the  advancement  of 
the  knowledge,  the  health,  and  the  comfort  of  his  fel- 
lows, I  recognized  such  devotion,  conscientiousness, 
and  charity  as  could  not  be  rightly  designated  irre- 
ligious. About  the  same  time  my  attention  was 
called  to  a  meeting  of  ecclesiastics.  All  who  took 
part  in  it  were,  presumably,  considered  by  themselves 
and  by  others  to  be  religious  in  an  exceptional  degree. 
Yet  no  reported  speech  of  any  one  of  them  happened 
to  be  devoid  of  a  certain  selfish,  intolerant,  and  un- 
magnanimous  disregard  of  the  feelings  and  thoughts 
of  others  such  as,  so  far  as  one  could  draw  just  con- 
clusions from  a  few  utterances,  did  not  place  the 
speaker  outside  the  pale  of  those  ordinarily  supposed 
to  be  particularly  characterized  by  distinctively  Christ- 
like  traits.  In  view  of  these  facts,  it  seemed  to  me 
that  it  was  about  time  for  the  world  to  have  some 
criterion  more  trustworthy  than  those  commonly  ac- 
cepted by  which  to  judge  of  the  kind  of  faith  and  life 
separating  the  religious  from  the  non-religious.  This 
seemed  especially  important  in  view  of  the  influence 
which  men  of  both  types  mentioned  are  constantly 


PREFACE  ix 

exerting  upon  the  young  and  the  inexperienced.  Is  it 
not  unfortunate  that  one  of  the  first  type,  whom  these 
can  not  but  esteem  and,  therefore,  instinctively  strive 
to  imitate,  should  be  connected  in  their  minds  with 
irreligious  and  not  infrequently  injurious  precepts  and 
examples,  which,  if  also  imitated,  can  not  but  lead 
astray?  And  is  it  not  equally  unfortunate  that  a  man 
of  the  second  type  whom  the  same  classes  can  not  fail 
often  to  disesteem,  and,  therefore,  to  strive  not  to 
imitate,  should  be  the  one  connected  in  their  minds 
with  that  which  is  religious  and,  as  a  rule,  elevating 
and  fitted  to  lead  aright?  Is  there  any  need  of  pre- 
venting a  man  of  either  type  from  exerting  the  sort  of 
influence  for  which  his  personal  traits  fit  him?  It 
does  not  seem  to  me  that  there  is.  But  before  this 
can  be  recognized  by  most  men  they  require  clearer 
views  than  they  usually  have  with  reference  to  the 
connection  between  Christianity  as  a  system  and  the 
Christian  as  a  subject  of  it.  Here  is  a  reason,  there- 
fore, in  addition  to  reasons  already  given  and  to  others 
naturally  associated  with  each,  seeming  to  justify,  as 
applied  to  practise  as  well  as  to  theory,  an  attempt,  as 
in  this  book,  to  make  a  more  careful  study  than  has 
yet  been  undertaken  of  the  nature  of  that  phase  of  in- 
fluence to  which  spiritually  minded  people  believe  that 
religion  owes  its  source. 

I  may,  perhaps,  be  excused  for  mentioning,  before 
closing  this  Preface,  two  regards  in  which  the  thought 
presented  in  the  pages  following  differs  essentially 


X.  PREFACE 

from  that  in  almost  all  other  works  written  with  a 
somewhat  similar  intent.  In  the  first  place,  while  em- 
phasizing the  importance  of  rationality  in  religion,  the 
arguments  advanced  are  not  in  the  least  degree  allied 
to  those  of  " rationalism"  in  the  materialistic  sense  in 
which  this  term  is  ordinarily  used.  On  the  contrary, 
they  tend  distinctly  toward  belief  in  the  spiritual,  and 
this  to  a  degree  not  true  of  very  many  of  the  Chris- 
tian discussions  of  our  times.  In  the  second  place, 
while  emphasizing  spiritual  discernment  as  necessary 
to  the  understanding  of  the  literal  statements  of  the 
Scriptures,  the  arguments  are  not  advanced  as  pleas 
for — nor,  indeed,  against — any  merely  esoteric  method 
of  interpreting  occult  symbols  or  allegories.  On  the 
contrary,  the  whole  line  of  thought  tends  distinctly 
toward  confidence  in  the  sufficient  intellectual  equip- 
ment of  those  who  exercise  merely  honest  and  un- 
biased common  sense. 

GEORGE  LANSING  RAYMOND. 

THE  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  UNIVERSITY. 
November  1, 1907. 


CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION 

PAGE 

Conditions  of  Prevailing  Thought  Which  Occasioned  This  Book- 
Comprehensive  Character  of  the  Results  Reached  in  It— In- 
spiration and  Revelation— Apparent  Inaccuracy  in  the  Hebraic 
and  Christian  Scriptures— No  Writings  or  Utterances  Sup- 
posed to  Be  Inspired  Are  Free  from  Ambiguity,  or  from  the 
Liability  of  Being  Interpreted  Differently— A  Logical  Mind 
Can  Not  Accept  This  Condition  Unless  It  Perceive  Some  Rea- 
son for  It— This  Reason  Must  Be  Found,  if  at  All,  in  the  Na- 
ture of  the  Spirit  Inspiring,  of  Which  We  Can  Not  Know  ;  or 
of  the  Man  or  Mankind  Inspired,  of  Which  We  Can  Know. ...  1 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  NATURE  OF  TRUTH  AS  INDICATED  BY  WHAT  MEN 

SEEK  WHEN  THEY  SEARCH  FOR  IT,  AND  THINK 

THAT  THEY  FIND  WHEN  THEY  OBTAIN  IT 

Methods  Through  Which  It  Is  Proposed  to  Ascertain  the  Nature 
of  Truth— Scientists  and  Philosophers  Search  for  Truth  as 
Something  Behind  Appearances  in  Space— And  in  Time- 
Therefore  Conceive  It  to  Be  Not  Alone  in  the  Appearances 
Themselves — But  in  These  as  Related  to  Certain  Methods  of 
Operation— Same  Facts  Shown  by  the  Treatment  Given  to 
Formal  Statements— The  Truth  in  Them  Discovered  by  Re- 
garding Relations  to  Surrounding  Circumstances— Therefore 
to  Methods  of  Operation— Absolute  Truth  as  Existing  Without 
Reference  to  Relations — Necessity  of  Considering  Methods  of 
Operation  Shown  by  What  Men  Find  When  They  Think  That 
They  Have  Obtained  Truth— Meanings  of  the  Adjective  True 
—Further  Meanings— Its  Meanings  When  Material  or  Bodily 
Conditions  Are  Compared  With  Mental  or  Spiritual  —  Its 
Meanings  When  Applied  to  Language— The  False  in  Language 
Is  a  Want  of  Conformity  to  a  Method  of  Operation  in  a  Mental 
Process— Summary  of  the  Meanings  of  the  Word  True— Of  the 

Word  Truth 9 

zl 


xii  CONTENTS 

•       CHAPTER  II 

THE  NATURE  OF  TRUTH  AS  INDICATED  BY  WHAT  MEN 

DO  WHEN  RECEIVING  AND  IMPARTING 

ITS    INFLUENCE 

PAGE 

Objections  to  the  View  Presented  in  the  First  Chapter— Truth,  as 
Exprest  in  Language,  Should  Not  Be  Confounded  with  the 
Formula ;  Illustrated  from  Methods  of  Interpreting  the  Bible 
—Its  History  Noteworthy  for  the  Methods  of  Life  Which  It 
Illustrates— Its  Prophecies  Valuable  for  Their  Fulfilment  Not 
Only,  but  Applicability  to  Laws  Operating  Everywhere— Con- 
firmation of  This  Principle  of  Interpretation  of  the  Bible  in  Its 
Explanations — Its  Arguments — Its  Injunctions — Real  Meaning 
Lost  When  Truth  Is  Supposed  to  Be  Conformed  to  Formulae 
Alone,  and  Not  Also  to  Methods  of  Operation— The  Use  of  the 
Word  Truth  in  the  Bible— Illustrations— Inferences— Truth  Is 
Perceived  in  the  Process  of  Searching  for  It— Supposing 
Change  Inconsistent  with  Absoluteness  in  Truth  Is  a  Source 
of  Both  Infidelity  and  Bigotry— Right  Views  of  Truth  as  a 
Corrective  of  These— The  Truth  in  Revealed  and  Natural 
Religion  Connected  with  a  Conception  of  Method — One  Recog- 
nizing This  May  Be  a  Friend  to  Both  Progress  and  Perma- 
nence—Inferences from  the  View  Here  Presented— A  Few 
Forms  in  Space  May  Reveal  Universal  Methods— One  Mind 
May  Represent  God— And  One  Life,  if  Full  of  Love— The  Mis- 
sion of  the  Friend— Comfort  in  This  Suggestion— The  Changes 
of  a  Few  Moments  May  Reveal  Universal  Methods— Child  or 
Man  with  Short  or  Long  Life  May  Both  Have  Experience  of 
Them..  26 


1    CHAPTER  III 

THE    MIND'S    SUSCEPTIBILITY    TO    SPIRITUAL   OR   IN- 
SPIRATIONAL, AS  CONTRASTED  WITH 
MATERIAL,  INFLUENCES 

To  What  Men  Refer  When  Using  the  Term  Inspiration— When 
Using  the  Term  Spiritual— Considered  an  Influence  Not  Trace- 
able to  the  Conscious  Sphere  of  the  Mind— But  Traceable  to 
or  Through  an  Inner  or  Subconscious  Sphere — Proofs  of  the 
Existence  of  This  Sphere,  as  in  Memory,  Fright,  Fever,  Hyp- 
notism—Subconscious Philosophical  and  Mathematical  Intel- 
lection—Resulting from  Previous  Conscious  Action,  as  in 


CONTENTS  xiii 

PAGE 

Skill — Not  Resulting  from  Previous  Conscious  Action  :  Co- 
burn,  Mozart,  Blind  Tom — Subconscious  Diagnosis  of  Disease 
at  a  Distance — Subconscious  Apprehension  of  Distant  Occur- 
rences—Both in  Space  and  Time— Mind-Reading— Automatic 
Writing — Apparitions — Connection  Between  Such  Facts  and 
Belief  in  a  Future  State  of  Rewards  and  Punishments — Often 
Attributed  to  Natural  Material  Causes— Should  Be  Attrib- 
uted to  Influences  from  Nature's  Occult  Side  —  Shown  in 
Susceptibility  of  the  Primitive,  Uneducated  Man  to  Such  In- 
fluences— Instinct  and  Reason — Instinctive  and  Rational — In- 
stinctive and  Religious — Instinctive  and  Animal — Story  of 
the  Fall — The  Mental  Actions  of  Animals — Of  Negroes,  In- 
dians, and  Those  Subject  to  Hallucinations,  with  Inferences 
Therefrom — Like  Inferences  with  Reference  to  the  Origin  of 
Religion  Drawn  from  Primitive  Religious  Customs — With 
Growth  of  Intelligence,  Physical  Occult  Manifestations  Are 
Considered  Less  Important  Than  Verbal — But  the  Verbal  Con- 
tinue to  Be  Associated  with  Subconscious  Intellection. . ,  51 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  MIND'S  CONTRIBUTIONS  FROM  CONSCIOUS  INTEL- 
LECTION TO  THAT  WHICH  IS  RECEIVED  THROUGH 
THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

Subconscious  and  Conscious  Influences  Manifested  in  All  Forms 
of  Intellection — Value  of  That  Obtainable  from  the  Former 
Depends  on  the  Character  of  That  Given  by  the  Latter— Ob- 
ligation of  an  Inspired  Man  to  Interpret  Promptings  from 
the  Subconscious  by  His  Conscious  Intellection — Fulfilment 
of  This  Obligation  Characteristic  of  Writers — Consequent  In- 
tellectual Progress  Connected  with  This  Form  of  Inspired 
Communication  — Recognizing  Relationship  of  Christian  to 
Other  Forms  of  Inspiration  Does  Not  Impair  the  Authen- 
ticity and  Authority  of  the  Christian  Scriptures — Or  Lessen 
One's  Veneration  for  Them— Nor  Does  the  Acknowledgment 
That  Signs  and  Wonders  Are  Wrought  in  Other  Religions — 
The  Testimony  of  the  Christian  Scriptures  Upon  This  Subject 
—Rationality  of  the  Scriptural  Test  as  Applied  to  Spiritism 
— Hudson's  Theory — Importance  of  Investigating  Spiritism — 
The  Dangers  Attendant  Upon  Accepting,  Without  Thinking, 
Its  So-called  Revelations  Also  Threaten  Those  Accepting,  in 
the  Same  Way,  Revelation  in  Any  Other  Form 


xiv  CONTENTS 


4      CHAPTER  Y 

THE   NECESSARILY    SUGGESTIVE    CHARACTER  OF    IN- 
SPIRED OR  REVEALED  TRUTH 

PAGE 

Ambiguity  and  Indefiniteness  Seem  Characteristic  of  the  Com- 
munications Received  Through  Inspiration  and  Revelation — 
The  Method  of  Action  of  the  Inner  Sphere  of  the  Mind  May 
Render  This  Result  Necessary— We  Can  Study  This  Method 
Through  the  Analogous  Methods  of  Hypnotism— Limitations 
of  This  Study — Hypnotism  Influences  Through  Suggestion, 
Which  Leaves  Expression  Free  and,  When  Influencing  Differ- 
ent Minds,  Different— The  Bearing  of  This  Argument— Analo- 
gies from  Hypnotism  May  Explain  Many  Things  Assigned  to 
Spiritual  Influence  in  the  Scriptures— This  Is  so  of  Conver- 
sion— Of  Atonement,  of  Spiritual  Unity,  of  Creation,  of  Proba- 
tion, of  Life  After  Death— Suggestive  Revelation  May  Be  More 
Influential  Than  Dictatorial— Additional  Evidence  of  This— 
Suggestive  Control  in  Religion  Conforms  to  Divine  Control  as 
Manifested  in  External  Nature— Suggestive  Nature  of  Re- 
vealed Truth  Already  Widely  Acknowledged  by  Christians— 
This  Acknowledgment  Not  Antagonistic  to  Continued  Study 
of  the  Scriptures— Illustration  of  the  Way  in  Which  the  Same 
Inspired  Truth  May  Be  Exprest  in  Different  Forms — Different 
Legends  in  Different  Religions  May  Give  Expression  to  the 
Same  Fundamental  Truth— Influence  of  This  Fact  Upon  Fu- 
ture Theologians 107 

CHAPTER  VI 
SIGNIFICANCE  AND  FORM  IN  SUGGESTED  TRUTH 

A  Conception  Impressing  Our  Minds  Is  Not  Identical  with  a 
Word  Expressing  It— The  Latter  Is  a  Result  of  Materializing 
the  Conception — Use  of  Materialized  Conceptions  by  Man 
and  by  the  Creator— Universal;;  Recognition  of  This  Use— Ap- 
propriateness of  Its  Use  in  Inspiration  and  Revelation— How 
This  Fact  Modifies  Certain  Current  Conceptions— Differences 
Between  Scientific  and  Religious  Truth  —  Application  to 
Statements  in  the  Bible  — Rendering  These  Conformable  to 
Reason— And  to  Philanthropy— Degrees  of  the  Credibility  of 
the  Influence  Occultly  Exerted  Through  the  Subconscious— 
Depends  Upon  the  Truthfulness  of  the  Suggestion  Given  It 
as  a  Premise— The  Truthfulness  of  This  Suggestion  and  of  Its 
Results  Must  be  Determined  by  the  Action  of  Some  Con- 


CONTENTS  xv 

PAGE 

scions  Mind— Whose  Conscious  Mind  This  Is— It  Is  a  Mind  In- 
fluenced by  Heredity  and  Environment— This  Explains  the 
Development  of  the  Truth  as  Revealed  in  the  Bible— The  Ex- 
planation Accords  with  Biblical  Statements— With  General 
Opinion— This  Conception  Does  Not  Render  Biblical  Truth 
Less  Determinant 134 

CHAPTER  VII 

THE  RATIONAL  METHOD  OF  INTERPRETING  BIBLICAL 
STATEMENTS 

Theories  of  Modern  Biblical  Critics— How  to  Reconcile  with  the 
Conception  of  Inspiration  the  Conception  That  Parts  of  the 
Bible  Are  Compiled  from  Other  Writers— Scriptural  Warrants 
for  Testing  by  the  Conscious  Mind  the  Truth  Coming  Through 
the  Subconscious— The  Test  Afforded  by  the  Results  of  Previ- 
[pus  Information— Of  Intuitive  Insight— Of  Logical  Inference 
—Application  of  Faith  to  Matters  Beyond  the  Reach  of  Con- 
scious Information,  Intuition,  or  Inference 158 

*     CHAPTER  VIII 

ARGUMENTS   FOR   AND   AGAINST  INTERPRETING  BIB- 
LICAL STATEMENTS  AS  SUGGESTIVE  AND  NOT 
DICTATORIAL 

The  View  Presented  in  the  Preceding  Chapter  Seems  to  Subject 
the  Truth  of  God  to  the  Judgment  of  Man— This  Method  in 
Analogy  with  Other  Ways  in  Which  Man  is  Expected  to  In- 
terpret Divine  Truth— Nature  and  Experience  Influence  Him 
so  as  to  Cultivate  His  Power  of  Acting  Rationally— Effect  of 
This  Upon  the  Young— We  Should  Expect  the  Same  Method 
to  Be  Pursued  in  Revelation:  Impossibility  of  Any  Other 
Method  Except  the  Suggestive  in  Communicating  Spiritual 
Truth— The  Error  of  Interpreting  the  Scriptures  Literally 169 

*     CHAPTER  IX 

CHRISTIAN  DOGMATISM    AS  AFFECTED  BY  CONSIDER- 
ING SPIRITUAL  TRUTH  SUGGESTIVE 

Conclusions  Reached  in  Preceding  Chapter— Confirmation  of  These 
Afforded  by  the  Scriptures— These  Conclusions  Are  Not  Ac- 
cepted by  Christians  in  General— Deleterious  Effects  of  This 


xvi  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Manifested  in  Diminished  Attendance  Upon  Church  Services 
—The  Church  Should  Remedy  This  Condition— Origin  of  Dog- 
matism, Intolerance,  and  the  Dark  Ages— Dogmatism  and  In- 
tolerance as  Irrational  as  Uncharitable— Creeds  Should  Not 
Be  Made  a  Test  of  Christian  Character— Applied  to  the  Doc- 
trine of  Inspiration— Injurious  Effects  of  Applying  Such  a 
Test  in  Connection  with  This  Doctrine— Same  Principle  Ex- 
emplified with  Reference  to  the  Doctrine  of  the  Personality  of 
God— The  Trinity— The  ImmaculateiConception  and  Incarna- 
tion—The Method  of  Salvation— The  Problem  in  Salvation— Its 
Solution  in  the  Work  of  the  Christr— How  Dogmatism,  Tho 
Based  Upon  This  Solution,  Does  Harm— Not  Only  Among 
Christians,  but  Non-Christians,  as  Buddhists  and  Moham- 
medans— Same  Principle  Applied  to  Doctrine  of  Eternal  Pun- 
ishments—Certainty with  Reference  to  Spiritual  Truth  Not 
Justifiable— Illustration  of  the  Practical  Evils  of  This  Atti- 
tude. . .  178 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH  AS  AFFECTED  BY  CONSIDER- 
ING SPIRITUAL  TRUTH  SUGGESTIVE 

The  Church  Not  an  End  but  a  Means— The  Church  Intended  to 
Influence  Opinion,  Inclination,  and  Conduct — Opinion  Most 
Influenced  Not  by  Authority,  but  by  Thought— Illustrations 
from  History— Same  Principle  Applied  to  the  Influence  Ex- 
erted Upon  Belief  by  the  Numbers  Attending  Any  One  Church 
— Or  Exerted  Upon  Expressions  of  Belief — External  Unity  of 
the  Church  May  Be  Detrimental  to  Influence  of  Thought  as 
Thought — Influence  of  Thought  as  Thought,  Aside  from  the 
Influence  of  Authority  Upon  Christian  Opinion — And  Upon 
Conduct— Reasons  for  This— The  Conception  of  the  Church 
Which  Harmonizes  with  the  Testimony  Afforded  by  Historic 
Christianity— By  the  Primitive  Church— Enforced  Unity  of 
the  Church  Is  Not  the  Spiritual  Unity  of  Christians— Nor  Is  It 
Made  Prominent  Where  the  Church  Is  Growing— The  Church 
as  Influencing  Inclinations  Through  Rites  or  Rituals— Wor- 
ship Can  Not  Be  Exprest  Through  Argumentative  or  Dog- 
matic Language— Neglect  of  This  Principle  in  English  Cathe- 
drals—In Assemblies  of  Those  of  Divergent  Views— Principle 
Applied  to  Hymns— To  Prayers  and  Repetitions  of  Creeds— 
The  Church  in  Influencing  Conduct  Is  Sometimes  Dictatorial, 
Sometimes  Prohibitive,  but  Usually  Negative  — The  Chris- 


CONTENTS  xvii 

PAGE 

tianity  of  the  Christ  Is  Positive— The  Christian  Must  Do  More 
Than  Seek  His  Own  Salvation— Development  in  the  Church 
of  the  Feeling  of  Individual  Responsibility — Further  Develop- 
ments to  Be  Expected  in  the  Future— These  Theories  Not  Due 
to  Lack  of  Appreciation  of  the  Work  of  the  Church 21<T 

*  CHAPTER  XI 

CHRISTIAN  CONSCIENCE  AND  CONDUCT  AS  AFFECTED 
BY  CONSIDERING  SPIRITUAL  TRUTH  SUGGESTIVE 

Important  to  Consider  the  Church's  Influence  Upon  the  Indi- 
vidual—  Supposed  Origin  of  Subconscious  Tendencies  —  The 
Important  Matter  Is  to  Recognize  That  They  Exist,  and  Are 
Often  Antagonistic — The  Antagonism  Is  Caused  by  a  Con- 
sciousness, Which  We  Term  Conscience,  That  One  Tendency 
Has  Superior  Claims  to  Another — The  Nature  and  Function  of 
Conscience— Its  Promptings  from  the  Subconscious  Different 
in  Different  Minds— Character  of  the  Influence  from  the  Sub- 
conscious to  Some  Extent  Under  One's  Control — The  Result  of 
Environment  and  Habit— The  Influence  of  Conscious  Repeti- 
tion— The  Influence  of  Rituals  and  Rites — Overbalanced  by 
the  Influence  of  Example— Reasons  for  This— Futility  of  Con- 
fining Efforts  for  Reformation  of  Character  to  Effects  Merely 
Addressing  the  Eye  or  Ear — Influence  of  Example  Upon  the 
Subconscious  Mind 247 

*  CHAPTER  XII 

CHRISTIAN  FAITH  AS  AFFECTED  BY  CONSIDERING 
SPIRITUAL  TRUTH  SUGGESTIVE 

Suggestion  Influences  One  Differently  When  in  a  Conscious  and 
in  a  Subconscious  State— In  Either  State,  He  Surrenders  Con- 
trol of  His  Subconscious  Mentality  to  One  Alone  in  Whom  He 
Has  Confidence— Importance  of  Noticing  This  Influence  of 
Personality — Its  Relation  to  Christian  Faith  and  Conversion 
—To  Preaching  and  Revivals— Faith  Not  Peculiar  to  Chris- 
tianity—Nature of  Christian  Faith— Faithfulness  and  Fidelity 
Essential  to  It — But  Not  Perfection  of  Character — Faith  as  In- 
fluenced by  the  Agencies  Employed  by  the  Church,  as  in  For- 
mulation—Error Necessarily  Introduced  Into  This— Two  II 
lustrations — Influence  of  Church  Authority — Influence  Upon 
Faith  of  the  Historic  Christ— How  Faith  Necessitates  Free- 
dom of  Mental  Action— Scriptural  Warrant  for  This 265 


xviii  CONTENTS 


»   CHAPTER  XIII 

UNITY  OF  RELIGIOUS  BELIEF   AS  AFFECTED  BY  CON- 
SIDERING SPIRITUAL  TRUTH  SUGGESTIVE 

Principles  Unfolded  in  the  Preceding  Chapter  Can  Be  Applied  in 
All  Religions— What  Are  the  Most  Common  and  Universal 
Religious  Conceptions — Communications  from  Bad  and  Good 
Spirits— Homage  Appeasing  the  First,  and  Soliciting  Favors 
from  the  Second,  Who  Are  Often  Supposed  to  Be  Heroes  and 
Ancestors — Formulation  of  Opinions  Concerning  These  and 
Their  Teachings  Into  Systems  of  Belief,  as  by  Copernicus, 
Zoroaster,  Buddha,  Moses,  Mohammed,  and  the  Christ — Chris- 
tianity Not  Necessarily  Antagonistic  to  Other  Religions,  as 
Shown  by  Its  Holding  Many  Similar  Beliefs— Acknowledging 
Certain  of  the  Truths  in  These  Religions  Might  Benefit  Chris- 
tianity—This Need  Not  Imply  Acknowledging  That  Every- 
thing in  Any  Other  System  Is  True— Nor  Need  It  Throw 
Discredit  Upon  Missionary  Effort,  but  Lead  It  to  Emphasize  in 
Christianity  That  which  Is  Lacking  in  Other  Systems,  and  Is 
Essential  in  Its  Own— Religious  Unity— This  Must  Begin  by 
First  Acknowledging  the  Truth  Common  to  All  Religions 287 

CHAPTER  XIV 

CERTAIN  OTHER  PROBLEMS  MADE  SOLVABLE  BY  THE 
THEORY  PRESENTED  IN  THIS  BOOK 

Reconciliation  Between  the  Claims  of  Inspiration  and  Apparent 
Inaccuracy  and  Contradiction  in  the  Text  Giving  It  Expres- 
sion— Between  the  Claims  of  Absolute,  Eternal,  and  Infinite 
Truth  and  the  Apparent  Impossibility  of  Stating  or  Deter- 
mining This ;  Pragmatism— In  What  Sense,  Value,  or  Worth, 
Emphasized  in  Pragmatism,  Is  a  Test  of  Truth — Difference 
Between  Knowledge  Which  Is  Applied  to  a  Part  and  Faith 
Which  Is  Applied  to  a  Whole— Illustration— Difference  Be- 
tween This  View  and  That  of  Pragmatism  —  Reconciliation 
Between  the  Full  Acceptance  of  Revealed  Truth  and  the  Full 
Exercise  of  Reason— Between  Liberality  of  Thought  and  Honest 
Acceptance  of  the  Christian  System,  Applied  to  Those  Not 
Members  of  the  Church— To  Scientists— Applied  to  Members 
of  the  Church — Reconciliation  Between  Complete  Adherence 
to  One's  Own  Religious  Views  and  Complete  Toleration  of 
the  Views  of  Others— Between  Others'  Acceptance  of  the  Truth 
in  One's  Own  System  and  Conservation  of  the  Truth  in  Theirs 


CONTENTS  xix 

PAGE 

—  Between  Rationality  or  Intelligence  and  Spirituality  or 
Faith— The  Material  and  the  Spiritual— Spirituality— If  In- 
spired Truth  Be  Suggestive,  Spirituality  and  Faith  Can  Fol- 
low It  with  No  Lessening  of  the  Exercise  of  Intelligence  and 
Reason— Conclusion ; 306 

INDEX..  337 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

INTRODUCTION 

Conditions  of  Prevailing  Thought  Which  Occasioned  This  Book— Com- 
prehensive Character  of  the  Results  Reached  in  It— Inspiration  and 
Revelation — Apparent  Inaccuracy  in  the  Hebraic  and  Christian 
Scriptures— No  Writings  or  Utterances  Supposed  to  Be  Inspired 
Are  Free  from  Ambiguity,  or  from  the  Liability  of  Being  Inter- 
preted Differently— A  Logical  Mind  Can  Not  Accept  This  Con- 
dition Unless  It  Perceive  Some  Reason  for  It— This  Reason 
Must  Be  Found,  if  at  All,  in  the  Nature  of  the  Spirit  Inspiring,  of 
Which  We  Can  Not  Know;  or  of  the  Man  or  Mankind  Inspired, 
of  Which  We  Can  Know. 

One  who  mingles  much  with  educated  men  in  our 
country  will  find  large  numbers  of  them  doubting 
whether  a  modern  mind,  trained  to  observe  scientifically 
and  to  reason  logically,  can  without  bias  accept  as 
true  the  form  of  religion  most  prevalent  in  our  times, 
or,  indeed,  any  religion,  and  yet  honestly  weigh  all  the 
arguments  that  can  be  brought  against  it.  There 
must  be  some  reason  for  their  doubting  this.  To  at- 
tribute the  reason  to  the  false  working  of  their  minds, 
as  contrasted  with  the  right  working  of  the  minds  of 
other  people,  would  be  manifestly  uncharitable  and 
illogical.  The  doubters  themselves  are  often  men  of  ex- 
ceptional capability  and  conscientiousness.  All  minds, 
of  course,  have  their  idiosyncrasies;  but  these  alone 
are  not  sufficient  to  account  for  similar  effects  produced 
upon  large  classes  of  men  who,  above  all  things,  are 


2  THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSP1RA TION 

thinkers.  There  must  be  something  and  often  much 
in  the  external  conditions  to  cause  these  effects.  In 
the  case  that  we  are  considering,  the  external  condi- 
tions are  the  forms  in  which  are  presented  what  are 
termed  the  truths  of  religion.  So  far  as  a  mind  does 
not  accept  these  forms  because  of  something  in  them- 
selves, we  must  hold  that  this  something  is  either 
essential  to  the  truth  that  is  in  the  form  or  that  it  is 
non-essential  to  this  truth.  If  essential,  then  there 
seems  to  be  no  escape  from  concluding  that  supposed 
truth  which  can  not  stand  the  tests  of  modern  science 
and  reasoning  must,  sooner  or  later,  become  wholly 
discredited.  If  non-essential,  then  every  effort  should 
be  made  to  change  the  method  of  interpreting  it  and  of 
separating  it,  so  far  as  possible,  from  the  essential.  The 
pages  that  follow  have  been  written  upon  the  hypothesis 
that  the  latter  supposition  is  correct,  as  well  as  to  show 
why  this  may  be  supposed  to  be  the  case,  and  how  the 
conditions  occasioning  it  may  be  met. 

An  endeavor  to  deal  with  such  subjects  as  these  is 
an  undertaking  for  which,  in  the  present  state  of  re- 
ligious thought  and  life,  no  earnest  man  writing  for 
earnest  men  need  make  excuses.  One  fact,  however, 
in  justice  to  the  author  ought  to  be  stated.  When  he 
entered  upon  his  work  he  had  no  conception  of  the  com- 
prehensiveness of  the  inferences  which  would  logically 
follow  upon  obtaining  from  it  any  definite  results. 
These  inferences,  one  after  another,  have  unfolded 
themselves  from  his  line  cf  thought  as  naturally  as  a 


INTRODUCTION  3 

bud  bursts  through  a  branch  from  which  it  springs. 
Indeed,  they  have  seemed  inevitable;  as  inevitable  to 
him  as  to  some  they  must  seem  revolutionary.  Not- 
withstanding their  revolutionary  semblance,  however, 
and  the  consequent  repulsion  with  which  many  a 
cautious  and  conscientious  mind  will  undoubtedly 
greet  them,  it  is  his  opinion  that  for  the  momentous 
problems  involved  the  general  conclusions  reached 
afford  the  only  rational  and,  at  the  same  time,  con- 
servative and  safe  solution. 

The  subject  to  be  developed  necessitates  making  a 
thorough  study  of  what  is  termed,  when  applied  to  its 
source,  inspiration,  and,  when  applied  to  its  results, 
revelation.  One  must  begin  by  ascertaining,  if  he 
can,  how  far  the  Church,  or  the  Christian  community, 
has  a  correct  conception  of  their  character,  and  there- 
fore of  the  form  of  guidance  which  they  are  fitted  to 
give.  In  order  to  answer  these  questions,  the  author, 
when  he  entered  upon  his  work,  tried  first  to  determine, 
if  possible,  the  nature  of  truth  in  general.  But,  very 
soon,  the  necessary  connection  between  this  subject 
and  the  particular  religious  aspects  of  it  that  occasioned 
the  study  rendered  inevitable  an  extensive  examination 
into  the  methods  of  statement  and  phraseology  em- 
ployed in  the  Hebraic  and  Christian  Scriptures. 

No  one  can  honestly  pursue  such  an  examination 
for  any  considerable  time  without  finding  all  his  con- 
ceptions of  the  importance  of  his  undertaking  confirmed. 
In  not  a  few  but  many  cases  what  is  said  in  the  Scrip- 


4  THE  PS YCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

tures  is  apparently,  at  least,  inaccurate.  Quite  fre- 
quently certain  of  their  statements  do  not  seem  to  ac- 
cord with  certain  other  of  their  statements;  or  with 
accepted  principles  of  common  sense  and  right  con- 
duct; or  with  well-ascertained  facts  of  history  and  of 
science.  Notice  that  the  phrase  used  is  "apparently" 
inaccurate.  Many  of  the  passages,  upon  examination, 
prove  not  to  be  so  in  reality.  Possibly  all  of  them 
could  be  proved  not  to  be  so.  But  "apparently"  they 
are  so.  Nor  that  this  should  be  the  case  will  seem 
strange  to  any  one  who  merely  recalls  the  thousands  of 
books  crowding  every  large  theological  library  which 
have  been  written  for  the  sole  purpose  of  proving  that, 
in  references  made  to  subjects  of  which  they  treat, 
Biblical  inaccuracy,  tho  apparent,  is  not — when  the 
words  are  properly  interpreted  and  understood — ac- 
tual; for  the  purpose  of  proving,  in  other  words,  that 
in  many  cases  the  Scriptures  either  do  not  say  what 
they  mean  or  do  not  mean  what  they  say. 

As  implied  in  the  opening  paragraph  of  this  Intro- 
duction, the  first  inclination  of  a  mind,  influenced  at 
all  by  the  condition  just  indicated,  is  to  discredit  the 
Scriptures  altogether,  as  well  as  the  whole  system  of 
religion  unfolded  in  them.  How  can  one  believe  that 
to  be  true,  is  asked,  which,  in  so  many  of  its  details, 
appears  to  be  untrue?  If,  with  this  question  upon  his 
lips,  one  still  cling  to  a  hope  in  the  existence  of  inspira- 
tion, his  next  move  will  be  to  discover,  if  possible,  some 
form  of  supposed  revelation  that  is  not  charaterized 


INTRODUCTION  5 

by  what  seems  inaccuracy.  No  one  acquainted  with 
the  subject  fails  to  know  that  this  is  something  which 
one  may  seek  forever  and  not  find.  Every  student  of 
the  influence  exerted  by  such  writings  as  the  Vedas, 
the  Zend-Avesta,  the  Koran,  or  the  Mormon  Bible 
knows  that  what  is  true  of  the  Hebraic  and  Christian 
Scriptures  is  true  of  all  the  others.  All  have  given  rise 
to  different  sects  whose  differences  have  been  occasioned 
by  different  methods  of  understanding  and  of  inter- 
preting the  same  passages  in  the  same  writings.  But 
besides  writings,  there  are  other  agencies  through 
which  it  is  supposed  that  spiritual  truth  can  be  re- 
vealed. In  certain  communities  there  are  official 
leaders,  who  individually,  as  in  the  Roman  and  Mor- 
mon churches,  or  collectively,  as  in  churches  that  make 
much  of  councils,  are  credited  with  giving  forth  what 
they  have  to  say  under,  at  least,  divine  superintendence. 
But  this  superintendence  does  not  prevent  the  same 
conditions  occasioned  by  sacred  writings.  There  is 
apparently  no  end  to  the  different  interpretations  given 
to  the  same  utterances;  or  to  the  different  degrees  in 
which  these  utterances  are  supposed  to  be  inspired. 
Besides  official  religious  leaders,  there  have  been  also 
—and,  apparently,  from  the  beginning  of  history- 
individuals  whose  claim  to  inspiration  has  been  based 
upon  evidence  which  they  themselves  have  been  sup- 
posed to  furnish.  They  are  represented  in  our  own 
time  and  country  by  the  clairvoyants  and  mediums  of 
what  is  termed  spiritism.  Are  the  communications 


6  THE  PS YCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

of  these  then  characterized,  as  a  rule,  by  accuracy? 
Certainly  not;  and,  probably,  few  intelligent  spiritists 
would  think  otherwise.  Each  of  these,  apparently,  has 
a  way  of  attributing  a  part  of  what  seems  revealed  to 
some  undeveloped  or — what  the  outside  world  would 
term — evil  spirit.  This  fact  alone — and  no  one  will 
dispute  it —  is  sufficient  to  show  that  the  spiritists  have 
not  found  everything  supposed  to  be  revealed  to  be 
equally  trustworthy.  Moreover,  besides  this,  many  of 
them,  probably  the  majority,  refuse  to  accept  much 
that  is  accredited  to  those  whom  they  consider  highly 
developed  spirits,  owing,  as  is  said,  to  the  different 
" conditions"  prevailing  in  the  spirit- world  and  in 
our  own. 

It  is  evident,  in  view  of  such  facts,  that  a  logical 
mind  must  do  one  of  two  things — either  reject  wholly 
everything  in  the  nature  of  inspiration,  or,  for  some 
reasons  that  need  not  now  be  discust,  accept  a  part 
of  it.  So  much  that  is  best  in  the  world  has  been  di- 
rectly traceable  to  the  influence  of  the  latter  course 
that  one  would  not  like  to  abandon  it  without  a  struggle. 
.But  how  can  he  not  abandon  it  and  yet  act  rationally? 
This  is  one  of  the  questions  involving,  more  or  less,  all 
of  the  others,  which  this  book  has  been  written  to  an- 
swer. At  first,  as  has  been  intimated,  the  author  had 
hoped  to  answer  it  by  such  a  study  of  the  nature  of 
truth  and  of  the  consequent  methods  of  interpreting 
passages  supposed  to  communicate  it  as  is  made  in  this 
book  between  pages  9  and  49,  Chapters  I  and  II.  But 


INTR  OD  UCTION  7 

after  a  little  a  different  conclusion  was  necessitated. 
All  that  is  unfolded  in  these  chapters  is  relevant  to  the 
subject,  and  important,  so  far  as  it  goes.  But  it  does 
not  go  deep  enough,  nor  is  it  broad  enough  in  its  ap- 
plicability. Suppose  it  to  be  all  true.  Suppose  the 
Christian  Scriptures — suppose  all  writings  or  utter- 
ances of  an  inspired  religious  leader  or  teacher — to  re- 
quire, as  there  indicated,  an  interpretation  according 
to  some  method  of  philosophic  inquiry,  historic  research, 
or  literary  criticism.  Why  should  this  be  the  case? 
Why  should  they  not  have  been  so  indited  as  to  be 
understood  by  that  vast  majority  of  people  who  are  not 
philosophers,  historians,  or  litterateurs?  Why  should 
any  communications  be  so  written  or  uttered  as  to 
render  not  only  probable  but  possible  innumerable 
misinterpretations?  How  can  we  reconcile  an  am- 
biguous result  with  attributing  it  to  an  Omniscient 
Cause  aiming  to  produce  the  opposite?  In  no  way 
whatever.  Our  only  logical  conclusion  must  be  that 
there  was  no  reason  for  seeking  to  avoid  the  divergences 
of  interpretation  that  so  perplex  us. 

Why,  then,  was  there  no  reason  for  this?  In  view  of 
the  Source  to  which  religious  people  ascribe  the  am- 
biguous result,  the  answer  must  be  that  any  different 
result  was  not  necessary,  or  not  possible,  or,  at  least, 
not  in  accordance  with  the  requirements  of  the  condi- 
tions. Of  what  conditions?  Of  those  pertaining,  on 
the  one  hand,  to  the  Spirit  inspiring,  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  to  the  man,  and  the  mankind,  inspired.  With 


8  THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

reference  to  one  of  these  factors — the  conditions  per- 
taining to  the  Spirit — we  can,  of  course,  only  make  sur- 
misals.  With  reference  to  the  other  factor,  however— 
the  conditions  pertaining  to  man  or  mankind — it  is 
different.  These  are  clearly  within  the  reach  of  human 
understanding.  To  investigate  the  methods  in  which 
the  mind  can  receive  and  utilize  any  influence  what- 
ever that  affects  it  is  a  perfectly  legitimate  function 
of  psychology,  and  this  is  that  which  is  to  be  done  in 
the  present  volume.  In  order  to  avoid  going  outside 
of  the  province  of  psychology,  and  to  keep  the  lines  of 
thought  within  what  all  will  acknowledge  to  be  logical 
limits,  few  references,  and  these  only  indirect  ones,  will 
be  made  to  purely  theological  questions  such  as  other- 
wise one  might  wish  to  discuss — questions  like  those 
concerning  the  nature  of  the  inspirational  influences 
considered  in  themselves,  and  the  differences  in  their 
sources  and  effects.  The  character  of  the  general  ar- 
gument to  be  presented,  and  the  considerations  pre- 
sumably having  weight  with  those  for  whom  it  was 
chiefly  written,  seemed  to  demand  that  it  should  deal 
almost  exclusively,  as  the  reader  will  find  that  it  does, 
with  an  examination  of  the  evidences  of  the  mind's 
being  adapted  by  nature  to  be  affected  according  to 
the  methods  which  in  religion  are  attributed  to  in- 
spiration, and,  in  connection  with  this,  an  examination 
of  the  ways  in  which,  when  so  affected,  the  mind 
naturally  expresses  itself  in  thought,  word,  and  action. 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  NATURE   OF  TRUTH   AS  INDICATED  BY  WHAT  MEN 

SEEK  WHEN  THEY  SEARCH   FOR  IT,  AND  THINK 

THAT  THEY  FIND  WHEN  THEY  OBTAIN  IT 

Methods  Through  Which  It  Is  Proposed  to  Ascertain  the  Nature  of 
Truth— Scientists  and  Philosophers  Search  for  Truth  as  Some- 
thing Behind  Appearances  in  Space — And  in  Time — Therefore 
Conceive  It  to  Be  Not  Alone  in  the  Appearances  Themselves — But 
in  These  as  Related  to  Certain  Methods  of  Operation— Same  Facts 
Shown  by  the  Treatment  Given  to  Formal  Statements — The  Truth 
in  Them  Discovered  by  Regarding  Relations  to  Surrounding  Cir- 
cumstances—Therefore to  Methods  of  Operation— Absolute  Truth 
as  Existing  Without  Reference  to  Relations— Necessity  of  Con- 
sidering Methods  of  Operation  Shown  by  What  Men  Find  When 
They  Think  That  They  Have  Obtained  Truth— Meanings  of  the 
Adjective  True— Further  Meanings— Its  Meanings  When  Material 
or  Bodily  Conditions  Are  Compared  With  Mental  or  Spiritual— Its 
Meanings  When  Applied  to  Language — The  False  in  Language  Is 
a  Want  of  Conformity  to  a  Method  of  Operation  in  a  Mental 
Process— Summary  of  the  Meanings  of  the  Word  True— Of  the 
Word  Truth. 

The  object  of  this  essay  is  to  consider,  in  view  of  im- 
portant facts  indicated  in  the  Introduction,  the  nature 
and  influence  upon  thought  and  action  of  what  is  termed 
inspired  or  revealed  truth.  This  object  necessitates, 
first,  an  understanding  of  what  is  meant  by  truth  in 
general.  To  determine  this,  the  most  sensible  way 
seems  to  be  to  ascertain,  if  we  can,  exactly  what  it  is 
that  men  who  use  the  term  mean  by  it.  How  can  we 
best  ascertain  this?  By  examining  their  definitions  of 
it?  Certainly.  But  we  can  do  more.  As  we  all  know, 


10          THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSP1RA TION 

actions  sometimes  speak  louder  than  words.  There- 
fore, in  connection  with  such  definitions  of  the  truth 
as  men  have  formulated  consciously,  let  us  observe 
their  actions  also  when  dealing  with  it;  and  the  con- 
ceptions of  it  which  these  actions  unconsciously  reveal. 
While  pursuing  this  course,  in  order  to  reach  results 
sufficiently  comprehensive,  let  us  start  with  an  analysis, 
as  complete  as  we  can  make,  of  the  different  methods 
through  which  such  self-revelations  can  be  rendered 
possible.  Of  these  methods,  we  shall  find  that  there 
are  three;  in  other  words,  that  men  indicate  their  con- 
ceptions of  the  nature  of  truth  by  their  dealings,  first, 
with  its  sources;  second,  with  its  substance;  and,  third, 
with  its  results;  or,  to  extend  each  of  these  three  heads, 
first,  by  what  they  seek  when  they  search  for  the  truth; 
second,  by  what  they  think  that  they  find  when  they 
obtain  it;  and,  third,  by  what  they  do  when  they  re- 
ceive or  impart  its  influence. 

In  accordance  with  this  analysis,  let  us  begin  by 
learning  what  we  can  from  the  sources  to  which,  when 
searching  for  truth,  men  are  accustomed  to  attribute 
it.  Through  observing  what  they  seek  in  such  cases, 
we  certainly  ought  to  gather  some  suggestions  with 
reference  to  what  they  think  it  to  be  when  obtained. 
Scientists  and  philosophers  investigate,  as  we  say,  the 
appearances  surrounding  them.  But  what  in  these  do 
they  investigate?  Merely  the  appearances  as  appear- 
ances? Do  they  believe  that  they  can  obtain  the  truth 
thus — even  a  part  of  it,  to  say  nothing  of  the  whole  of 


THE  NATURE  OF  TRUTH  11 

it?  Not  at  all.  They  often  tear  each  superficial  ap- 
pearance into  shreds.  To  detect  its  subtle  elements, 
they  hunt  for  them  as  for  hidden  treasure.  Then,  look- 
ing, if  possible,  through  the  elements,  they  strain  their 
vision  onward  and  inward,  as  if,  beyond  the  whole  ma- 
terial fabric,  were  something  for  which  they  still  must 
search.  Their  efforts  often  are  of  no  avail.  They 
prove,  at  least,  that  each  who  undertakes  them  has  a 
firm  conviction  that  the  truth  can  be  discovered  through 
the  outward  forms  of  nature,  else  why  should  he  ex- 
amine them?  And  they  prove,  as  well,  his  firm  con- 
viction that  the  truth  itself  is  not  to  be  attributed  to 
anything  that  is  wholly  in  the  outward  forms,  else  why 
should  he,  in  his  examination,  try  to  probe  beneath 
them? 

Appearances  are  not  confined  to  stationary  forms. 
Another  element  is  potent  in  the  universe.  The  folds 
upon  earth's  mighty  vestment  rise  and  fall.  The  fickle 
shadows  come  and  go.  The  brilliant  colors  separate 
and  blend.  One  listens  and  he  hears  the  bustle  of  per- 
petual movement.  He  infers  that  somewhere  under- 
neath the  movement  there  must  throb  a  heart  of  life; 
that  there  must  be  an  occasioning  condition,  and  that 
connected  with  the  condition  he  shall  be  able  to  discover 
the  truth.  And  so  he  uses  other  tests  upon  the  forms. 
He  puts  them  through  augmented  changes  for  experi- 
ment. He  boils,  he  burns,  he  dissipates,  he  fuses,  he 
compounds  them.  His  efforts  often  end  in  no  discov- 
eries, and  yet  they  prove,  at  least,  his  firm  conviction 


12          THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

that  the  truth  may  be  discovered  through  the  outward 
changes,  else  why  should  he  examine  them?  They 
prove,  as  well,  his  firm  conviction  that  the  truth  itself 
is  not  to  be  attributed  to  anything  that  is  wholly  in  the 
outward  changes,  else  why  should  he,  in  each  experi- 
ment, try  so  hard  to  attain  to  that  which  has  condi- 
tioned them? 

Indeed,  if  the  truth  were  wholly  in  outward  shapes 
or  changes,  why  would  it  not  be  patent  to  the  eyes  of 
every  one?  To  recognize  it,  what  would  be  the  need 
of  more  consideration  than  a  single  superficial  glance? 
Yet  all  the  world  admit  that  truth  is  something  that  in 
any  large  degree  is  revealed  alone  to  one  with  penetra- 
tion, perseverance,  and  a  more  than  ordinary  measure 
of  intelligence. 

But  to  say  that  the  truth  for  which  these  men  are 
searching  lies  not  wholly  in  the  outward  shape  or 
change  is  to  make  no  more  than  a  negation.  Consid- 
ered positively,  what  is  this  truth?  As  has  been  said, 
it  is  something  underneath  appearances  in  space  or  in 
time.  But  is  it  underneath  appearances  in  one  of  these 
alone,  or  in  both?  The  moment  that  the  question  is 
asked,  every  one  must  answer  "In  both."  The  rocks, 
as  they  appear  in  space  alone,  can  never  teach  what  is 
meant  by  geologic  truth;  nor  can  the  stars,  when  merely 
standing  still  "like  Joshua's  sun  at  Ajalon,"  teach  what 
is  meant  by  astronomic  truth.  To  the  study  of  rocks  or 
stars  as  they  appear  in  space  these  searchers  after  truth 
must  always  join  a  conception  of  the  influence  of  time. 


THE  NATURE  OF  TRUTH  13 

It  is  this  conception  alone  which  causes  the  scientist 
to  break  apart  the  rocks  in  order  to  detect  their  evi- 
dences of  development,  or  to  adjust  his  telescope  to  the 
stars  in  order  to  make  out  their  variations  of  movement. 
So  with  effects  that  appear  in  time.  No  one  can  under- 
stand the  truth  with  reference  to  the  successive  notes 
of  a  trumpet  or  a  violin  until  he  has  studied  the  rela- 
tive contractions  of  the  spaces  through  which  different 
quantities  of  wind  have  passed,  or  the  relative  spaces 
through  which  different  chords  have  been  stretched, 
or  have  been  made  to  vibrate.  Now,  granting  this  to  be 
as  stated,  what  is  the  truth  which,  as  a  result  of  examin- 
ing effects  both  in  space  and  in  time,  the  man,  at  last, 
imagines  himself  to  have  discovered?  What  is  it,  ex- 
cept what  may  be  termed  the  method  of  operation?  The 
truth  concerning  a  tree  is  learned  when  it  is  ascertained 
how  that  bulk  which  is  apprehended  in  space  has  been 
affected  by  that  growth  which  is  apprehended  in  time. 
The  truth  concerning  a  tune  is  learned  when  it  is  ascer- 
tained how  that  note  which  is  apprehended  in  time  has 
been  affected  by  that  string  which  is  apprehended  in 
space.  With  this  conception  in  mind,  let  us  go  back 
now  to  notice  if  it  be  confirmed  by  what  we  know  of  the 
aims  of  the  scientist  or  the  philosopher.  We  need  not 
linger  long  here.  All  recognize  that  no  one  is  a  scientist 
in  reality  who  merely  knows,  no  matter  how  extensively, 
the  surface-facts  with  reference  to  shapes  or  changes. 
Before  we  can  call  him  this,  we  must  believe  that  he  has 
looked  beneath  appearances,  and  through  their  agency 


14          THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

has  been  led  to  apprehend,  if  not  to  comprehend,  the 
operations  and  the  methods  of  the  operations  which 
have  brought  things  to  their  present  state,  and  which 
are  manifested  in  the  fulfilment  of  what  are  termed 
laws.  And  is  it  not  a  fact  that  a  man  is  acknowledged 
to  rank  high  in  science  and  philosophy  in  the  degree 
alone  in  which  he  has  been  able  to  discover  and  to  prove 
that  certain  of  these  methods  operate  identically  be- 
neath phenomena  that  in  themselves  are  different? 
Did  not  Newton,  Spencer,  and  Darwin  attain  their 
eminence  mainly  because,  in  the  opinion  of  their  follow- 
ers, they  had  the  penetration  to  detect  some  one  of 
these  methods  whose  operations  can  be  illustrated  by 
analogous  occurrences  in  all  the  different  departments 
and  developments  of  nature?  Some  method  of  this 
kind,  some  principle  of  inevitable  applicability,  accord- 
ing to  which  each  endeavors  to  explain  the  facts  of 
nature — in  other  words,  to  which  each  endeavors  to 
show  that  these  facts  conform — constitutes  the  basis 
of  his  scientific  or  philosophic  system.  This  is  that,  in 
order  to  discover  which  the  shapes  and  changes  of  the 
universe  have  been  examined  by  him.  This  is  that 
which,  when  discovered,  he  considers  to  be  the  truth. 

That  such  is  the  case  is  exemplified  by  his  treatment 
not  only  of  the  forms  of  nature,  but  of  the  statements  of 
others  representing  what,  before  his  time,  they  have 
learned  from  these  forms.  It  is  exemplified  in  his  treat- 
ment even  of  verbal  statements  that  he  believes  to  con- 
tain the  truth.  Take,  for  instance — because  directly 


THE  NATURE  OF  TRUTH  15 

in  line  with  the  chief  object  of  our  inquiry — the  way 
in  which  a  Biblical  scholar  examines  the  text  of  the 
Scriptures  even  when  he  considers  it  to  be  inerrant. 
Is  he  satisfied  to  accept  the  surface-meaning  of  the  text? 
Does  he  not  rather  search  beneath  it,  just  as  we  have 
found  that  scientists  do  when  trying  to  discover  the 
truth  through  the  forms  of  matter?  He  doubts,  he 
reexamines,  and  with  any  number  of  learned  opinions 
weighed  against  his  own  decision,  not  infrequently,  he 
ventures  to  uphold  it.  In  doing  this,  he  proves  that  he 
believes  that  the  truth,  tho  exprest  in  a  form  of 
thought,  is  not  identical  with  the  form  itself,  but  under- 
neath it. 

Now,  underneath  a  form  of  thought,  what  is  it  that 
must  be  considered  before  we  can  know  the  whole  truth 
that  it  expresses?  When  wise  men  hear  a  statement, 
what  is  the  chief  criterion  by  which  they  test  its  credi- 
bility? Is  it  not  the  circumstances  in  which  it  is  ut- 
tered, or  to  which  it  applies?  And  what  are  circum- 
stances? Are  they  not  things  that  stand  around,  that 
come  before,  beside,  or  after?  To  regard  a  thing  in 
connection  with  its  circumstances,  what  is  this  but  to 
regard  it  as  a  thing  acted  on,  and  thus  as  a  thing  that 
is  connected  with  other  things  that  act — that  is  to  say, 
as  in  itself  a  part  of  a  process,  as  in  itself  a  constituent 
element  of  an  operation? 

But  an  operation  in  its  progress  may  pass  through 
many  different  phases.  At  any  given  time,  each  of 
these  phases  in  succession  may  represent  the  method 


16          THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  1NSPIRA TION 

operating  through  them  all.  If  when  the  sun  is  on  the 
horizon,  one  affirm  that  in  an  hour  it  will  be  dark,  he 
may  be  saying  what  is  true  or  false,  true  if  it  be  evening, 
false  if  it  be  morning.  The  truth  or  falseness  which 
is  not  determined  by  a  similarity  or  difference  in  the 
statement — is  it  not  determined  by  the  degree  in  which 
the  statement  fits,  or  is  true  to  methods  as  these  really 
operate  in  nature?  In  nature  it  grows  dark  at  eve, 
but  not  at  dawn.  Again,  if  one  place  a  bud  in  the  sun- 
light, it  becomes  a  flower;  but  if  one  place  a  flower 
there,  it  withers.  Therefore,  in  making  a  statement 
concerning  the  effect  of  sunshine  on  the  appearance  of  a 
bush,  he  must  regard  the  condition  that  it  has  reached 
in  the  process  of  its  growth.  Once  more,  there  is  one 
method  of  operation  in  religious  life.  But  if  a  patriarch 
in  the  early  ages  became  religious,  his  impulse  to  duty 
might  have  prompted  him  to  multiply  the  number 
of  his  wives  (Deut.  25;  5-9).  A  similar  impulse  in 
modern  times  may  prompt  a  Christian  to  content  him- 
self with  one  wife;  and  in  making  statements  concern- 
ing the  effects  of  religion  on  the  lives  of  either  of  these 
men,  one  must  regard  the  circumstances  in  which  each 
is  placed.  These  examples  show  that  no  one  is  fit  to 
judge  of  the  truth  if  devoid  of  sufficient  insight — to  say 
nothing  of  experience — to  enable  him  to  look  beneath 
the  formula.  Precisely  similar  statements  may  be  true 
or  false  even  when  applied  to  similar  occurrences,  if 
these  be  manifested  in  different  circumstances  of  time 
or  of  place. 


THE  NATURE  OF  TRUTH  17 

Nevertheless  most  men  believe  that  there  is  such  a 
thing  as  absolute  truth.  But  where  is  it,  and  when  do 
statements  give  expression  to  it?  In  the  realm  of  na- 
ture, the  absolute  seems  to  be  suggested  by  a  similar 
method  indicated  through  all  the  different  phases  which 
different  substances  assume.  The  philosopher  discovers 
what  he  conceives  to  be  the  absolute  so  far  alone  as  he 
discovers  this  method  into  which  all  differences  fit,  or 
to  which  they  can  all  be  manifested  to  be  true.  Why 
should  not  the  same  principle  apply  universally? 

This  question  will  be  recognized  by  all  as  having  a 
certain  pertinence.  But  can  the  conception  from 
which  it  springs  stand  the  test  of  analysis?  Appro- 
priate as  this  conception  may  be  when  the  term  truth 
is  used  in  an  abstract  and  general  sense,  is  it  equally 
so  when  used  in  a  concrete  and  specific  sense?  The 
answer  to  this  question  necessitates  our  taking  up  the 
second  topic  mentioned  at  the  opening  of  this  chapter, 
namely,  men's  conceptions  of  truth  as  indicated  by 
their  dealings  with  what  they  suppose  to  be  its  sub- 
stance— i.e.,  by  what  they  think  that  they  find  when 
they  obtain  it.  When  a  man  says  that  he  has  the 
truth,  or,  to  begin  with  the  adjective,  that  a  certain 
thing  is  true,  what  does  he  mean?  Primarily,  the  ad- 
jective refers — does  it  not? — to  that  which  conforms  to 
something,  or  fits  it.  Nothing  is  true,  except  as  it  is 
true  to  some  other  appearance  or  conception  with 
which  it  is  compared.  This  meaning  is  evident,  even 
when  we  use  the  term  merely  in  contrast  to  the  term 


18          THE  PSYCHO L OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

false.  When  we  say  that  a  door  is  true,  indicating 
that  it  is  what  it  appears  to  be,  that  it  is  really  a 
door,  and  not  an  imitation  of  one,  we  mean  that  it 
conforms,  or  is  fitted,  to  that  conception  of  a  door 
which  we  have  in  mind.  In  this  use  of  the  word  true, 
one  might  think  that  we  were  merely  comparing  ap- 
pearances with  supposed  appearances;  but  notice  that 
we  are  also  taking  into  consideration  certain  condi- 
tions underlying  the  appearances,  which  conditions 
cause  the  appearances,  so  to  speak,  to  operate  as  they 
do  upon  the  eye.  The  comparison  is  between  the 
effect  of  a  real  door  and  the  effect  which  some  sup- 
posed door  might  have  upon  some  supposed  spectator. 
This,  in  some  of  its  applications,  is  not  an  uncommon 
use  of  the  adjective.  For  instance,  the  sentence, 
"John  is  his  true  name,"  implies  a  comparison  be- 
tween the  effect  of  a  certain  form  upon  us  in  calling 
to  our  thoughts  or  lips  the  word  John  and  the  effect 
which  some  other  form  produces,  or  which  John's  sup- 
posed form,  if  present,  would  produce  upon  a  sup- 
posed acquaintance. 

But  there  are  other  possible  ways  of  interpreting 
this  phrase,  the  door  is  true.  It  may  mean  that  the 
door  corresponds  in  material,  size,  shape,  color,  or, 
perhaps,  in  only  one  of  these  regards,  to  some  other 
doors  which  are  near  it.  In  these  cases,  too,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  comparison  is  not  between  appearances 
except  so  far  as  they  are  considered  effects  produced 
by  certain  like  methods  of  operation  upon  the  eye. 


THE  NATURE  OF  TRUTH  19 

Or  the  phrase  may  mean  that  the  door  fits  into  its 
doorway,  or  conforms  to  the  architectural  design  of 
the  room  or  building  in  which  it  is  seen;  and,  in  this 
case,  there  may  be  involved  no  likeness  whatever  in 
the  appearances  as  mere  appearances.  It  is  in  the 
effects  which  certain  principles  controlling  the  con- 
struction of  straight  lines,  angles,  or  curves  have  upon 
both  the  door  and  its  framework,  or  upon  the  door 
and  also  upon  the  windows,  cornices,  and  gables  ac- 
companying it.  The  word  true,  therefore,  does  not 
imply  necessarily  a  comparison  between  external  forms 
or  appearances.  Nor,  again,  does  it  imply  necessarily 
a  comparison  between  the  substances  of  which  these 
forms  are  compounded,  because  the  constituent  ele- 
ments are  often  known  to  differ  as  widely  as  the  con- 
stituted appearances.  A  painting,  for  instance,  may 
be  true  to  a  hall  in  which  it  is  hung.  Every  one  of 
the  cases  mentioned,  however,  does  imply  a  corre- 
spondence between  conditions  beneath  the  forms, 
which  conditions  produce  effects.  Whatever  produces 
an  effect,  operates.  If  anything  operate  upon  differ- 
ent material  elements  in  such  a  manner  as  to  indicate 
similarity,  the  similarity,  which  can  not  be  in  the  mat- 
ter of  the  elements,  must  be  in  the  manner — in  other 
words,  in  the  method  of  operation. 

This  statement  will  be  rendered  more  apparent  when 
we  apply  the  word  true  not  to  that  which  is  made  to 
conform  or  to  be  fitted  to  material  conditions,  but  to 
mental  conditions.  A  man's  words  or  deeds,  for  ex- 


20          THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

ample,  are  said  to  be  true  to  his  opinions  or  character. 
How  can  they  be  true  to  that  which  in  itself  is  in- 
visible? The  visible  can  not  conform  to  the  invisible 
in  form  or  in  substance.  It  must  conform  to  it  in  the 
manner,  or  in  the  method  of  operation.  One  says, 
again,  that  the  color  upon  a  maiden's  cheek  is  true. 
By  this  he  means  that  the  flush  or  the  pallor  there  is 
produced  according  to  a  method  that  conforms  to  that 
of  nature — is  not  a  result  of  mere  painting  or  washing, 
but  is  a  result  of  the  movement  of  the  unseen  blood 
within  the  system;  and,  more  than  this  often,  that  it 
is  conformed  to  unseen  mental  excitement  or  depres- 
sion. This  use  of  the  term  is  revealed  still  more 
plainly  when  we  come  to  consider  the  possibility  of 
the  existence  in  man  of  both  a  body  and  a  soul.  The 
body  is  material;  the  soul,  so  far,  at  least,  as  we  can 
become  acquainted  with  it,  is  immaterial.  How  now 
can  the  bodily  expression  be  true  to  the  soul's  ex- 
perience? In  formal  appearance,  frowns,  gestures, 
words,  do  not  resemble  anger,  feeling,  or  thought. 
Evidently  the  expression  is  true  in  the  degree  only  in 
which  it  represents,  by  way  of  analogy  or  correspond- 
ence, the  method  in  which  one  thought  or  feeling 
succeeds  another. 

It  may  be  asked,  perhaps,  if  single  words  do  not 
often  give  expression  to  thoughts,  and  how  it  is  that 
a  single  word  can  represent  a  method  of  operation, 
which  term  operation  necessarily  implies  a  process. 
The  answer  is  that  a  single  word  does  not  express 


THE  NATURE  OF  TRUTH  21 

thought  except  so  far  as  the  word  may  be  perceived 
to  be  related  in  some  way  to  a  series  of  words.  One 
asks,  "Do  you  love  me?"  The  answer  is  "Yes,"  per- 
haps; but  this  "yes"  has  no  meaning,  conveys  no 
thought,  except  to  one  acquainted  with  the  previous 
question.  Then  it  is  recognized  to  be  a  short  way  of 
indicating  the  process  which  would  be  fully  exprest  by 
saying,  "I  love  you."  A  child,  confronted  with  a 
fearful  sight,  cries  out,  "Oh!"  This  "oh"  conveys  no 
unmistakable  meaning  except  to  one  who  has  knowl- 
edge of  its  occasion.  Then  it  is  recognized  to  be  an 
effect  of  the  process  of  thought  or  feeling  started  by 
the  fearful  sight.  The  fact  is  that  thoughts  in  the 
mind  invariably  flow  consecutively,  one  combination 
of  them  following  another.  For  this  reason  each  com- 
bination, except  when  exprest  in  an  abbreviated  form, 
because  this  is  supposed  to  be  sufficient  to  suggest  the 
longer  form,  is  invariably  represented  in  what  is 
termed  a  sentence.  A  sentence  always  implies  or  ex- 
presses a  subject,  a  predicate,  and  an  object.  This  is 
true  even  where  the  predicate  is  a  passive  verb,  be- 
cause, in  this  case,  the  subject  and  object  are  the 
same.  A  subject,  a  predicate,  and  an  object  indicate 
a  beginning  of  a  movement,  a  movement,  and  an  end 
of  it.  A  movement  is  an  operation.  Therefore  every 
sentence  expresses  an  operation.  And  not  only  so, 
but  it  expresses  a  method  of  operation.  Sense  is  not 
indicated  simply  by  an  order  of  sequence  in  words. 
This  order  may  differ  in  different  languages,  and  even 


22          THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OP  INSPIRATION 

in  the  same  language.  "If  so,  I  will  go,"  means  ex- 
actly the  same  as  "I  will  go,  if  so."  Sense  is  indi- 
cated by  the  order  of  dependence  in  the  words;  that 
is,  by  the  method  in  which  one  word  is  made  to  affect 
or  to  be  affected  by  another.  Accordingly,  it  may  be 
said  that  every  sentence  manifests  a  method  of  opera- 
tion. Moreover,  as  this  is  manifested  in  language, 
and  as  language  is  always  representative  of  something 
that  is  not  language,  the  method  of  operation  in  the 
words  must  be  representative  of  one  that  takes  place 
in  a  sphere  which  is  not  that  of  words.  If  one  say,  "I 
went  there,"  he  means  that  the  method  of  operation 
in  his  words  represents  the  method  of  operation  in  his 
deeds. 

If  the  order  of  dependence  of  the  words  upon  one 
another — i.e.,  the  method  of  operation  indicated  by 
them — do  not  agree  with  the  method  in  some  other  de- 
partment which  they  are  supposed  to  represent,  we 
have  what  is  false.  It  may  be  made  false  either  by 
representing,  as  if  it  had  existed,  an  operation  that 
has  never  taken  place;  or  by  misrepresenting  an 
operation  that  has  taken  place.  In  the  latter  case, 
this  might  be  done  by  substituting  some  fictitious  sub- 
ject, predicate,  or  object  in  place  of  one  really  por- 
traying the  conditions,  or  by  inverting  the  order  in 
which  one  of  these  parts  of  the  sentence  should  be 
made  to  depend  upon  other  parts.  This  is  so  evident 
that  it  need  not  be  illustrated. 

Accordingly,  we  see  that  our  use  of  the  words  true 


THE  NATURE  OF  TRUTH  23 

and  truth  indicates  conformity — based  upon  compari- 
son— not  alone  to  forms  or  to  formulae,  but  to  methods 
of  operation.  If  we  say  that  a  man  is  true  to  himself, 
we  seldom  mean  merely  that  his  deeds  or  words  com- 
pare with  other  of  his  deeds  or  words.  We  usually 
mean  that  the  methods  of  operation  in  them  compare 
with  methods  of  operation  in  others  of  them,  or  we 
may  mean  not  that  they  compare  with  words  or  deeds 
at  all,  but  that  they  compare  with  certain  varieties 
of  mental  operations  which  both  represent,  and  which 
take  place  in  the  dissimilar  and  non-apparent  realm 
of  consciousness.  If  we  say  that  a  friend  is  true 
to  another,  we  seldom  mean  that  this  friend's  face, 
deeds,  words,  thoughts,  feelings,  or  even  wishes  are 
similar  to  the  other  man's.  We  may  mean  merely 
that  the  friend,  with  his  own  face,  etc.,  has  a  way  of 
acting  in  such  a  manner  as  to  carry  out  the  other 
man's  purposes.  It  is  a  law  of  life  that  one's  actions 
are  so  ordered  as  to  secure  his  own  welfare.  If  his 
friend's  actions  be  made  to  accomplish  the  same  re- 
sult, then  this  friend  is  true  to  him.  When  a  man  is 
true  to  God,  he  is  true  to  the  character  of  God,  as  this 
has  been  revealed  to  him  through  methods  of  opera- 
tion in  nature  and  in  revelation.  This  thought  will  be 
brought  out  more  distinctly  hereafter.  At  present  we 
need  dwell  no  longer  on  what  is  indicated  by  the  ad- 
jective true.  We  have  traced  it  from  its  lowest  to  its 
highest  signification.  When  attributed  to  any  form, 
material  or  imagined,  of  structure,  deed,  or  word,  the 


24          THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

adjective  indicates  that  the  form  is  conformed  to  an- 
other form,  with  which,  in  whole  or  in  part,  in  general 
effect  or  in  underlying  conditions,  it  is  compared. 
The  fact  of  conformity  is  made  evident  sometimes  be- 
cause the  forms  appear  alike,  by  which  we  mean  that 
they  operate  similarly  on  the  eye,  ear,  or  some  other 
sense,  or,  at  times,  on  the  imagination  regarding  them. 
The  same  fact  is  made  evident  at  other  times  because, 
while  they  do  not  appear  alike,  nevertheless  they 
manifest  certain  results  of  like  methods  which,  in  con- 
nection with  different  existences,  or,  possibly,  in  dif- 
ferent spheres  of  existence — one  material  and  one 
mental — have  been  operating  to  produce  the  appear- 
ances. 

Truth  is  the  substance  of  that  of  which  true  is  the 
quality.  As  what  is  termed  an  expression,  whether 
made  in  a  form  of  words  or  of  deeds,  of  literary  art  or 
of  plastic  art,  can  not  invariably  conform  in  form  or 
appearance  to  what  is  audible,  visible,  or  tangible  in 
the  external  world,  the  truth  in  such  an  expression  can 
not  be  said  to  be  determined  invariably  by  anything 
except  the  conformity  of  the  method  of  the  expres- 
sion's operation  upon  the  mind  (whether  influencing 
intelligence  or  emotion)  to  the  method  of  operation 
(upon  either  the  senses  or  the  mind)  indicated  in  ex- 
isting external  appearances  or  processes  to  which  the 
expression  refers.  In  a  similar  way,  the  truth,  when  the 
term  is  applied  generically,  is  determined  by  the  con- 
formity of  the  method  of  the  expression's  operation 


THE  NATURE  OF  TRUTH  25 

upon  the  mind  to  some  one  method  of  operation  in 
the  universe,  to  which  method  all  methods  under  par- 
ticular appearances  or  processes  are  supposed  to  be 
organically  related.  It  is  in  this  latter  sense  that  the 
truth  can  be  said  to  be  infinite,  eternal,  and  absolute. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  NATURE  OF  TRUTH  AS  INDICATED  BY  WHAT  MEN 
DO  WHEN  RECEIVING  AND  IMPARTING  ITS  INFLUENCE 

Objections  to  the  View  Presented  in  the  First  Chapter— Truth,  as 
Exprest  in  Language,  Should  Not  Be  Confounded  with  the 
Formula ;  Illustrated  from  Methods  of  Interpreting  the  Bible — 
Its  History  Noteworthy  for  the  Methods  of  Life  Which  It  Illus- 
trates—Its Prophecies  Valuable  for  Their  Fulfilment  Not  Only, 
but  Applicability  to  Laws  Operating  Everywhere — Confirmation 
of  This  Principle  of  Interpretation  of  the  Bible  in  Its  Explanations 
— Its  Arguments — Its  Injunctions — Real  Meaning  Lost  When 
Truth  Is  Supposed  to  Be  Conformed  to  Formulae  Alone,  and  Not 
Also  to  Methods  of  Operation— The  Use  of  the  Word  Truth  in  the 
Bible — Illustrations — Inferences — Truth  Is  Perceived  in  the  Proc- 
ess of  Searching  for  It — Supposing  Change  Inconsistent  with 
Absoluteness  in  Truth  Is  a  Source  of  Both  Infidelity  and  Bigotry- 
Right  Views  of  Truth  as  a  Corrective  of  These— The  Truth  in 
Revealed  and  Natural  Religion  Connected  with  a  Conception  of 
Method— One  Recognizing  This  May  Be  a  Friend  to  Both  Progress 
and  Permanence — Inferences  from  the  View  Here  Presented — A 
Few  Forms  in  Space  May  Reveal  Universal  Methods— One  Mind 
May  Represent  God— And  One  Life,  if  Full  of  Love— The  Mission 
of  the  Friend — Comfort  in  This  Suggestion — The  Changes  of  a  Few 
Moments  May  Reveal  Universal  Methods— Child  or  Man  with 
Short  or  Long  Life  May  Both  Have  Experience  of  Them. 

Before  concluding  the  subject  begun  on  page  10  it  is 
necessary  to  notice  men's  conceptions  of  the  truth  as  in- 
dicated by  their  dealings  with  its  results — i.e.,  by  what 
they  do  when  receiving  or  imparting  its  influence. 
Some  may  not  perceive  how,  if  the  truth  be  not  identical 
with  a  form  of  statement  in  a  creed  or  a  dogma,  it  can 
affect  thought  or  action  in  the  degree  in  which  it  should. 


SPIRITUAL  DISCERNMENT  27 

They  may  find  fault  with  a  theory  which  seems  to  in- 
volve a  weakening  not  only  of  speculative  doctrine, 
but  of  practical  faith,  because  lessening  confidence  in 
those  statements  on  which  spiritual  life  must  depend 
for  guidance.  An  endeavor  will  be  made  now  to  show 
that  this  theory  does  not  have  the  effect  thus  attributed 
to  it,  but  rather  the  opposite. 

It  seems  to  be  a  legitimate  inference,  from  what  has 
been  said  already,  that,  to  be  rightly  influenced  by  a 
statement,  we  need  to  be  influenced  by  something  more 
than  the  statement  itself.  But  the  same  inference  may 
be  drawn  as  a  result  of  other  considerations.  For  in- 
stance, if  truth  were  identical  with  a  formula  presenting 
it,  why  would  not  one's  wisdom  be  proportioned  to  his 
memory?  But  of  course  it  is  not.  Again,  why  is 
candor  necessary  in  order  to  attain  success  in  an  intel- 
lectual investigation  or  charity  in  a  religious  one?  How 
can  wise  philosophers  or  earnest  theologians,  convinced 
to  the  contrary,  too,  yield  a  conscientious  toleration  to 
the  views  of  their  opponents?  With  what  reason  can 
they,  in  their  words  as  well  as  in  their  deeds,  virtually 
act  upon  the  hypothesis  that  truth  may  be  exprest 
in  statements  diametrically  opposed  to  those  that  they 
themselves  make?  How  could  one  affirm  of  two  such 
statements,  "Both  may  be  true,"  unless  intending  to 
admit,  and  conscious  that  the  one  to  whom  the  asser- 
tion is  addrest  will  just  as  readily  admit,  that  by  the 
truth  something  is  meant  which  is  communicated 
through  the  statement,  but  is  not  by  any  means  iden- 


28          THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

tical  with  it.  Or,  to  apply  the  same  thought  where,  in 
this  connection,  it  will  have  the  most  significance — i.e., 
to  the  statements  of  creeds  or  dogmas  of  which  mention 
has  just  been  made — what  church  is  there  that  fails  to 
recognize  the  necessity,  where  one  is  to  be  influenced, 
as  he  should  be,  by  such  statements,  of  that  spiritual 
discernment  of  which  the  Apostle  Paul  speaks  when,  in 
1  Cor.  2;  14,  he  says  that  "the  natural  man  receive th 
not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  .  .  .  because  they 
are  spiritually  discerned"?  What  is  spiritual  discern- 
ment? Let  us  consider  it  for  a  little,  and,  that  there 
may  be  no  doubt  as  to  its  meaning,  let  us  examine  it 
where  there  is  the  least  possible  opportunity  of  admit- 
ting a  difference  between  the  phraseology  and  the  mean- 
ing which  the  phraseology  is  intended  to  convey;  let  us 
apply  it,  that  is,  to  the  words  of  the  Bible. 

The  greater  portion,  perhaps,  of  this  book  is  com- 
posed of  history  and  prophecy.  Who  imagines  that 
the  history  in  it  is  valuable  chiefly  on  account  of  the 
events  related  considered  merely  as  events?  Is  it  not 
rather  on  account  of  the  events  considered  as  illustra- 
tive of  principles,  illustrative — i.e.,  of  the  methods  of  the 
divine  government,  of  the  modes  according  to  which 
spiritual  laws  operate  ?  Do  commentators  or  do  preach- 
ers represent  that  the  mere  memory  of  the  transactions 
recorded  in  the  book  is  more  important  than  the  morals 
to  be  drawn  from  the  transactions  which,  in  the  order 
of  their  occurrence,  indicate  the  methods  of  the  usual 
development  of  religious  life?  Are  not  the  individuals 


SPIRITUAL  DISCERNMENT  29 

and  the  nations  mentioned  in  the  book  understood  to 
be  typical  of  other  individuals  and  nations?  Are  not 
their  experiences  recognized  to  be  intended  to  reveal 
primarily  the  methods  in  which  doubt  or  faith  and  sin 
or  righteousness  in  every  age  and  country  are  either 
punished  or  rewarded?  Is  it  not  the  revelation  of  these 
methods  that  renders  possible  a  sermon  based  upon  a 
story  in  the  Bible?  Is  it  not  the  possibility  of  our  con- 
forming our  own  lives  to  these  methods  that  renders  it 
possible  for  us  to  be  benefited  by  the  truth  derivable 
from  the  story?  Certainly  the  last  four  questions  can 
be  answered  in  the  affirmative.  If  not;  the  "  higher 
criticism"  of  the  last  two  decades  would  not  have  been 
able  to  persuade  so  many  to  acknowledge  that  the  un- 
scientific writers  of  the  Bible  could  draw  their  lessons 
from  what  are,  possibly,  mere  traditions  and  legends, 
and  yet  not  impair  one's  faith  in  the  spiritual  truth 
contained  in  them.  Why  should  not  truth  be  revealed 
through  them  as  well  as  through  the  purely  imagined 
figures  used  by  David  in  his  psalms,  or  the  imagined 
parables  used  by  Jesus  in  his  discourses? 

The  same  principle  applies  to  the  prophecy  of  the 
Bible.  Of  what  special  value  to  our  time  is  it  to  be 
told  that  Tyre  or  Sidon  shall  be  destroyed  on  account 
of  wickedness?  While  comparing  dates  we  learn,  of 
course,  that  these  denunciations  of  the  cities  came  be- 
fore the  destructions  of  them;  and  our  faith  in  prophecy 
may  be  strengthened  by  noticing  the  fact.  Yet  the 
sole  value  of  passages  of  this  kind  does  not  rest  in  such 


30          THE  PS YCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

an  application  of  them;  nor  their  chief  value.  Why  do 
men  to-day  read  and  reread  these  same  passages?  Why 
does  the  clergyman  preach  about  them?  Is  it  not  be- 
cause it  is  felt  that  they  have  a  significance  for  all  time 
as  well  as  for  the  times  in  which  they  were  uttered? 
Do  not  methods  of  operation  evidenced  in  prophecy 
as  well  as  in  history  repeat  themselves?  Altho  certain 
words  used  may  have  been  uttered  in  denunciation  of 
particular  cities,  and  fulfilled  with  literal  exactness  as 
applied  to  them,  may  not  the  methods  exprest  in  the 
words  be  applied  to  every  town  or  country  in  which 
existing  evils  may  provoke  similar  violence?  The 
world  first  learned  of  the  philosophy  of  history  from 
Herder.  The  Church,  if  it  had  had  but  very  little 
of  its  treasured  "  spiritual  discernment/ '  might  have 
learned  of  the  same  from  Moses,  and  thus  proved  the 
prestige  which  the  children  of  eternity  ought  to  have 
over  those  of  time. 

Now  let  us  turn  from  history  and  prophecy  to  those 
parts  of  the  Bible  in  which  the  Scriptural  reasons  for 
the  uses  of  both  have  been  distinctly  stated.  How 
ma.ny  times,  and  in  how  clear  language,  are  we  informed 
that  certain  persons  and  events  are  to  be  interpreted 
representatively!  How  many  times  that  Abraham, 
Moses,  Joshua,  David,  Jonah,  are  typical  of  the  Christ! 
How  many  times  that  the  flood,  the  exodus,  the  wander- 
ing in  the  wilderness,  the  lifting  up  of  the  serpent,  are 
emblematical  of  a  universal  method  operating  every- 
where, and  through  which  man  can  be  delivered  from 


BIBLICAL  ARGUMENTS  31 

sin!  How  many  times  is  the  word  Israel  or  Babylon 
employed,  not  with  literal  exactness,  but  to  indicate, 
by  way  of  metonymy,  a  class  of  people  inclined  to 
righteousness  or  to  unrighteousness! 

Those  parts  of  the  Bible  which  are  not  devoted  to 
history  or  prophecy  or  explanations  of  their  methods 
of  imparting  truth  may  be  classified  under  the  head 
either  of  arguments  or  of  injunctions.  Let  us  notice 
what  we  can  learn  from  these.  Through  arguments, 
truth  is  demonstrated.  Through  injunctions,  it  is 
merely  stated.  How  is  truth  demonstrated  in  the 
Bible?  The  Apostle  Paul,  whether  writing  to  the 
Romans  or  to  the  Hebrews,  argues  thus:  " Abraham 
believed  God,  and  it  was  counted  unto  him  for  right- 
eousness" (Rom.  4;  3).  Through  faith,  Abel,  Enoch, 
Noah,  Abraham,  and  countless  others  "  obtained  a  good 
report"  (Heb.  11;  39).  Therefore,  if  the  Christian  be- 
lieve, his  faith  also  shall  be  so  counted,  and  he  also  shall 
obtain  a  good  report.  And  again,  all  that  priests  and 
sacrifices  of  the  former  Testament  accomplished,  the 
Christ  of  whom  they  were  symbolical  has  accomplished 
(Heb.  10;  12).  Therefore  the  Christian,  different  as  are 
the  forms  of  his  religion,  is  saved  according  to  the  same 
method.  But  evidently  arguments  of  this  kind  have 
no  force  whatever,  except  so  far  as  it  is  recognized  that 
the  truth  of  religion  consists  less  in  conformity  to  the 
apparent  form  than  to  the  method  of  operation  which 
this  form  exemplifies.  Or  let  us  recall  the  words  of 
the  Christ.  We  are  told  that  he  never  spake  without 


32          THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

a  parable  (Mark  4;  34).  How  do  parables  present  the 
truth?  By  means  of  a  parallel  instance.  They  illus- 
trate a  principle  applicable  to  one  phase  of  life,  through 
pointing  to  the  way  in  which  it  operates  in  another 
real  or  fancied  phase.  They  indicate  the  working  of  a 
law  in  one  department  or  development  of  nature, 
through  instancing  its  operation  in  a  corresponding 
department  or  development.  And  they  have  no  force 
whatever;  they  suggest  no  arguments  at  all,  except  so 
far  as  mankind  recognizes  that  there  is  a  sense  in  which 
to  find  the  one  method  operating  in  all  different  de- 
partments and  developments  of  nature  is  to  find  the 
truth.  The  words  which  caused  the  common  people 
to  affirm  that  the  Master  spake  "as  one  having  author- 
ity" (Matt.  7;  29)  were  almost  invariably  these  state- 
ments of  parallels.  " Behold  the  fowls  of  the  air,"  he 
said;  "  .  .  .  your  Heavenly  Father  feedeth  them.  Are 
ye  not  much  better  than  they?"  (Matt.  6;  26).  "If 
ye,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your 
children,  how  much  more  shall  your  Father  which  is  in 
heaven  give  good  things  to  them  that  ask  him?" 
(Matt.  7;  11).  "Ye  shall  know  them  by  their  fruits. 
Do  men  gather  grapes  of  thorns,  or  figs  of  thistles?" 
(Matt.  7;  16).  Such  were  the  statements  of  the  Christ; 
and  not  alone  in  his  case,  but  from  the  time  when  he 
stood  upon  the  shores  of  Galilee,  without  one  priest  to 
place  a  hand  upon  his  head  and  ordain  him  as  a  messen- 
ger of  God,  down  to  the  present,  in  the  cases  of  all  men 
whom  the  people  hear  with  gladness,  as  they  throng  the 


BIBLICAL  INJUNCTIONS  33 

halls  of  all  the  sects,  statements  in  the  form  of  parables 
or  parallels  have  had  an  influence  beyond  all  others  in 
proving  to  men  the  presence  of  a  mind  that  has  pene- 
trated to  the  sources  of  truth,  and  can  reveal  it.  Why? 
Because  the  masses  have  recognized  the  connection 
between  the  truth  and  a  method  of  operation  applicable 
universally. 

From  the  arguments  of  the  Bible  let  us  turn  now  to 
its  injunctions.  How  are  these  presented?  If  its  ar- 
guments affirm  conformity  to  like  methods  operating 
beneath  different  effects  which  are  mentioned,  its  in- 
junctions imply  this  conformity.  They  refer  to  one 
series  of  effects  that  necessarily  suggests  another.  In- 
deed, one  could  almost  assert  that  that  which  mainly 
causes  the  Scriptural  precepts  to  be  accepted  by  so 
many  with  the  authority  of  absolute  truth  is  this  fact. 
They  are  precepts  which  it  can  be  said  that  men  of 
every  age  and  place,  the  Hindu  and  the  Hottentot, 
the  Englishman  and  the  Egyptian,  can  recognize  to  be 
truthful.  The  more  they  search  the  book,  too,  the 
more  they  find  in  it  passages  that  can  apply  to  al- 
most every  series  of  their  own  experience  and  of  their 
neighbors7,  and  equally  well  to  almost  every  series  of 
events  in  the  history  of  the  human  race  and  of  the 
material  world.  Upon  whatever  ground  a  man  may 
base  his  confidence  in  the  Bible,  the  testimony  of  every 
thoughtful  mind,  the  implication  of  every  Scriptural 
discourse,  the  confession  of  every  new  convert,  proves 
that  a  main  source  of  Scriptural  authority  lies  in  the 


v   \ 


34          THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

fact  which  Coleridge  stated  when  he  said,  "It  finds 
me."  Here  is  a  book  which  satisfies  the  wants  of 
human  souls,  just  as  the  earth  about  one  satisfies  the 
wants  of  human  bodies.  The  force  of  the  argument  of 
Coleridge  is  derived  from  the  inference  that  the  Power 
which  made  man  must  have  made  the  world,  and  that 
inasmuch  as  the  precepts  of  the  Bible  accord  with  the 
laws  which  operate  in  the  world  they  must  accord  with 
the  purposes  of  this  Power.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
recall  a  single  Biblical  statement  of  a  spiritual  truth 
which  can  not  be  illustrated  by  showing  the  applica- 
tion of  the  methods  which  it  indicates  to  the  methods 
operating  in  the  realms  of  intellect  and  of  physics. 
For  instance,  take  a  passage  like  the  following: 
"Quench  not  the  Spirit"  (1  Thess.  5;  19).  The  an- 
alogy is  obvious.  Pour  not  water  on  fire.  Extinguish 
not  the  life  of  one  element  by  adding  another  hostile 
to  it.  Do  not  drive  away  spirituality  by  bringing  in 
worldliness. 

There  are  other  cases  in  which  the  method  indicated 
is  less  easy  to  recognize.  In  these  we  need  to  remem- 
ber this — that  truths  are  simply  finite,  transient,  and 
concrete  embodiments  of  the  truth  which  is  infinite, 
eternal,  and  absolute;  and  that  in  order  to  perceive 
the  latter  in  a  given  formula,  we  must  distinguish  it 
from  what  is  merely  finite,  transient,  and  concrete. 
For  example,  take  a  statement  like  the  following: 
"Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou  shalt  be 
saved"  (Acts  16;  31).  The  truth  that  is  to  influence 


TRUTH  IN  THE  METHOD  35 

us  in  this  is  either  in  the  concrete  transient  formula, 
or  in  the  absolute,  eternal  method  of  operation  indi- 
cated by  the  formula.  But  if  it  be  in  the  formula,  we 
can  not  reconcile  the  statement  with  such  statements 
as  the  following,  which  also  are  in  the  Bible:  " Abra- 
ham believed  God" — without  the  words  Jesus  Christ 
added — "and  it  was  counted  unto  him  for  righteous- 
ness" (Rom.  4;  3);  "In  every  nation  he  that  feareth 
him,  and  worketh  righteousness" — without  mention  of 
believing— "is  accepted"  (Acts  10;  35);  "These,  hav- 
ing not  the  law" — without  any  reference  even  to  a 
knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ — "are  a  law  unto  them- 
selves" (Rom.  2;  14).  Accordingly  we  must  conclude 
that  the  absolute,  eternal  truth  in  the  phrase,  "Be- 
lieve in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be 
saved,"  is  less  in  the  formula  than  in  the  method  in- 
dicated by  it.  This  method  grows  clear  to  a  finite 
mind  in  the  proportion  in  which  it  is  translated  into 
finite  terms,  or,  better,  is  made  definite.  These  two 
words,  Jesus  Christ,  are  intended  to  remind  one  of 
what  that  person  said  and  did  when  representing,  so 
far  as  this  was  possible  in  a  human  form,  the  char- 
acter of  the  deity.  To  one  who  recalls  the  method  of 
the  representation,  the  words  make  the  injunction  well- 
nigh  infinitely  clearer  to  comprehension.  He  should 
guard  against  thinking,  however,  that  they  are  more 
important  than  the  method  which  they  are  intended 
to  illustrate.  The  words  are  definitive  and  not  in- 
finitive. The  absolute  and  eternal  truth  which  they 


36          THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

are  used  in  order  to  make  clear  is  the  need  of  having 
faith  in  spiritual  supervision,  love,  or  aid.  In  every 
phase  of  natural  life,  all  persons  who  are  compara- 
tively ignorant,  weak,  and  sinful  need  to  trust  for 
guidance  in  the  wise,  the  strong,  and  the  loving,  and, 
for  the  highest  guidance,  in  the  highest  wisdom, 
strength,  and  love,  hence  in  the  deity.  To  define  this 
method  of  salvation  by  annexing  the  words  Jesus 
Christ  to  the  statement,  and  causing  us  to  think  of 
what  he  said  and  did,  may  communicate  good  tidings 
to  the  souls  who  otherwise  might  have  too  vague  no- 
tions of  the  unseen  deity;  but  it  does  not,  save  in  a 
negative  sense,  communicate  bad  tidings  to  the  souls 
who  can  not,  or  who  do  not,  know  of  the  definition 
which  makes  the  infinite  truth  more  finite.  Con- 
sidered in  relation  to  the  context  and  with  an  accu- 
rate conception  of  the  meaning  of  the  words  believe, 
saved,  and  Jesus  Christ,  the  passage  quoted  expresses 
a  truth  fundamental  to  all  religious  character  and 
charity.  But  divorced  from  its  connection,  no  one 
can  know  that  believe  means  more  than  intellectual 
assent,  or  saved  more  than  mere  comfort  in  this  world, 
or  Jesus  Christ  more  than  the  being  who  is  sending 
people  to  perdition  in  Michelangelo 's  picture  of  the 
"Last  Judgment." 

Once  more,  not  only  in  the  history,  prophecy,  argu- 
ments, and  injunctions  of  the  Bible  do  we  find  that 
the  truth  which  men  are  to  accept  and  obey  involves 
conformity  to  a  method  of  operation,  but  also,  and  in 


TRUTH  AS  LIFE  37 

the  clearest  light,  in  passages  in  which  the  sacred 
writers  have  employed  the  word  truth.  The  Bible 
does  indeed  apply  the  term  to  language.  "I  tell  you 
the  truth/7  said  Jesus  (John  16;  7).  But  what  was 
this  truth?  If  it  were  something  that  he  could  illus- 
trate by  one  of  the  parables  which  he  was  constantly 
using,  then  it  was  a  method.  Moreover,  he  said  not 
only,  "I  tell  you  the  truth,"  but  also  (John  14;  6)  "I 
am  the  truth";  and  one  can  not  account  for  such  a 
use  of  terms  unless  conceiving  of  the  truth  as  some- 
thing different  from  words,  tho,  of  course,  it  may  also 
include  them. 

What  did  the  Christ  mean  by  the  expression?  What 
could  he  have  meant  except  that  he  conceived  of  him- 
self as  the  truth  just  as  all  nature  is  the  truth — con- 
ceived of  himself  as  a  representative  of  the  character  of 
the  Creative  Power?  But  how  is  character  represent- 
ed? Always  through  methods  of  operation.  "What  is 
truth?"  asked  Pilate  of  Jesus  (John  18;  38);  and  was 
answered — in  not  the  words  but  the  deeds  of  the  Master 
—that  one  acts  according  to  the  methods  of  truth  when 
long-suffering  and  self-sacrificing.  "I  am  the  way," 
said  Jesus,  "the  truth,  and  the  life"  (John  14;  6).  What 
is  a  way  but  a  method?  What  is  a  life  but  a  progress 
according  to  a  method?  The  Apostle,  looking  down 
that  way,  enjoined  upon  his  followers  to  "walk  in  love, 
even  as  Christ  also  hath  loved  us,  and  hath  given  him- 
self for  us  an  offering  and  a  sacrifice  to  God"  (Eph.  5; 
2).  "For  I  rejoiced  greatly,"  said  John,  "when  the 


38         THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

brethren  came  and  testified  of  the  truth  that  is  in  thee, 
even  as  thou  walkest  in  the  truth "  (3  John  3);  and 
again,  "Let  us  not  love  in  word,  neither  in  tongue;  but 
in  deed  and  in  truth"  (1  John  3;  18).  To  walk  "in  the 
truth"  and  to  love  "in  the  truth"  must  mean  to  pur- 
sue a  certain  method.  Again,  when  the  Christ  says, 
"Every  one  that  is  of  the  truth  heareth  my  voice" 
(John  18;  37),  he  must  refer  to  every  one  whose  feel- 
ings, thoughts,  and  deeds  accord  with  his  own — to 
every  one  in  active  sympathy  with  his  methods  of  life. 
All  such  passages— and  they  might  be  multiplied 
greatly — show  that,  so  far  as  the  nature  of  abstract  or 
religious  truth  can  be  judged  by  what  the  writers  of 
Scripture  believed  to  be  its  results,  it  is  not  identical 
with  a  formula;  nor  can  it  be  communicated  orpossest 
by  one  who  apprehends  it  merely  as  this.  A  formula 
can  be  accepted  by  the  intellect  alone.  It  can  be 
mastered,  once  for  all,  by  a  single  act  of  memory;  and 
can  exert  its  full  influence  when  obeyed  solely  accord- 
ing to  the  letter.  Only  as  we  may  suppose  that  the 
truth  is  not  in  the  letter  but  in  the  method,  the  prin- 
ciple, the  spirit  exprest  through  the  letter,  can  we  in- 
terpret intelligently  such  Scriptural  passages  as  have 
been  quoted.  Only  as  we  may  suppose  this  can  we 
understand  why  such  effects  should  result  as  these 
passages  claim.  No  truth  except  that  which  is  sup- 
posed to  be  in  methods  rather  than  in  statements  can 
characteristically  oblige  a  man  to  think  in  order  to  per- 
ceive it,  and  to  work  in  order  to  accept  it.  Why  but  to 


STRIVING  FOR  TRUTH  39 

emphasize  these  latter  effects  of  the  truth  and  the 
importance  of  them  are  we  told  that  the  publican, 
who  smites  upon  his  breast  and  sighs  out,  "God  be 
merciful  to  me  a  sinner/'  tho  he  may  not  have  fulfilled 
many  a  requirement  of  a  formal  law,  should  be  com- 
mended rather  than  the  Pharisee,  tho  he  may  have  left 
not  one  jot  or  tittle  of  this  law  unfulfilled?  The  pub- 
lican yearns  for  higher  conceptions  and  attainments. 
He  lives  according  to  true  methods,  and  so  has  the 
truth.  The  Pharisee  is  content  with  what  he  possesses 
already.  He  does  not  live  according  to  true  methods. 
He  does  not  have  the  truth  (Luke  18;  10-14). 

Let,  then,  the  souls  so  often  blamed  because  they 
look  away  from  what  they  have,  and  search  on  every 
side  of  them  for  more,  toil  on!  Their  toil,  tho  it 
may  gain  them  little  to  be  touched  or  seen,  may  yet 
develop  life  in  them.  Each  sigh  may  force  still  farther 
from  their  breasts  the  poisonous  breath  of  error,  each 
aspiration  draw  still  nearer  them  the  inspiring  air  of 
heaven.  There  is  so  much  more  truth  on  the  earth 
than  mortals  can  imagine  possible!  When  Lessing 
said,  "Did  the  Almighty,  holding  truth  in  his  right 
hand  and  search  for  truth  in  his  left  hand,  tender  me 
the  one  that  I  should  prefer,  I  should  ask  for  the  search 
for  truth";  when  Malebranche  affirmed,  "If  I  held 
truth  a  captive  in  my  hand,  I  would  let  it  fly  that  I 
might  once  more  chase  it,  and  capture  it,"  they  spoke 
far  more  the  wisdom  of  the  heart  than  of  the  head. 
The  truth  held  in  one's  hand?  The  absolute,  eternal 


40          THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

truth?  Can  it  be  handled — all  of  it?  Is  not  often  the 
effort  of  obtaining  it,  the  method  of  discovering  it,  its 
most  important  factor?  If  this  be  so,  it  is  through  the 
desire  for  this  truth,  and  not  in  any  sating  of  the  desire, 
that  it  can  be  possest.  This  is  the  reason  why — 

"  There  lives  more  faith  in  honest  doubt, 
Believe  me,  than  in  half  the  creeds." 

In  Memoriam:  Tennyson. 

To  the  spirit,  progress  is  more  acceptable  than  a  pre- 
cept, life  than  a  tale  that  is  told.  Through  struggle 
men  experience  development,  and  doubt  that  leads  to 
struggle  is  a  means  of  grace.  The  moment  of  the 
Christ's  intensest  doubt  came  just  before  the  greatest 
victory  of  his  faith.  The  cry,  "My  God,  my  God,  why 
hast  thou  forsaken  me?"  (Matt.  27;  46)  was  the  minor 
prelude  preceding  the  triumphant  cadence,  "It  is 
finished  "(John  19;  30). 

Even  the  very  infallible  unchangeableness  of  which 
dogmatism  sometimes  boasts  may  be  in  itself  a  ground 
for  grave  suspicion.  Is  it  the  sign  of  a  living  thing  to 
stand  unmoved  for  centuries  amid  the  shifting  seasons 
of  the  world's  advance? — to  fix  the  gaze  of  greatest  ad- 
miration on  the  past? — to  find  the  holiest  ideal  there, 
and  to  long  for  the  superior  sanctity  of  that  which  has 
been  buried?  Did  ever  painter  yet  depict  one  faintest 
realization  of  a  living  faith  in  which  the  face  was  not 
turned  toward  the  future?  What  is  the  influence  that 
sways  the  individual  or  the  community  whose  aim  is 
sought  amid  the  smoke  of  centuries  consumed?  Re- 


TRUTH  AND  PROGRESS  41 

member  Lot's  wife!  There  is  a  civilization  beautiful 
to  look  upon  which  may  be  a  monument  of  what? 
Of  death — possibly  of  damnation.  It  is  a  question 
whether,  without  being  crusht  and  killed,  a  living 
thing — and  truth,  according  to  the  Scriptural  represen- 
tation, is  surely  this — can  ever  be  confined  for  long  in  a 
single  unchanged  mould;  whether  a  root  having  any 
life  at  all  will  not  necessarily  have  enough  of  force  to 
bend  and  crack  and  cast  aside  whatever  urn  of  worldly 
manufacture  may  surround  it.  Has  not  every  age  had 
experience  enough  to  be  taught  that  previous  ages  held 
too  firmly  to  the  form,  that  changes  in  the  form  do  not 
affect  the  substance  of  the  truth?  Why  then  should 
each  new  phase  of  truth  be  met  with  the  same  old  folly 
of  opposing  it?  Why  should  a  theoretical  misconcep- 
tion, as  foolish  as  the  child's  that  takes  the  mask  for 
the  man,  cause  all  those  mournful,  yet  quixotic,  cru- 
sades that  tend  to  persecution,  if  they  do  not  end  in 
martyrdom?  In  the  world  of  nature,  once  at  least  in 
every  year,  the  white  snows  melt  upon  the  mountains; 
and  the  gleaming  ice  upon  the  streams  is  heaved  up, 
rent  apart,  and  swept  away.  Why,  now  and  then, 
should  not  like  changes  be  expected  in  the  world  of 
thought?  Why  should  not  men  anticipate  a  breaking 
up  and  disappearing  of  formal  aspects,  however  bright 
and  beautiful,  however  appropriate  and  satisfactory 
they  may  have  seemed  in  their  own  now  long  past 
season?  But  what  men  might  expect  and  should  ex- 
pect, they  will  not;  and  when  these  changes  come — 


42          THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

alas  for  such  as  base  their  confidence  on  forms  alone! 
Like  those  that  pitch  their  tents  upon  the  shifting 
sands  of  a  flooding  stream,  they  find  all  things  about 
them  trembling,  crackling,  sinking;  and  in  the  sudden 
frenzy  of  bewilderment  it  often  happens  that  the  very 
voice  most  boastful  of  unwarranted  credulity  becomes 
most  blatant  of  an  equally  unwarranted  despair. 
"Truth  is  a  form,"  says  one.  "Forms  change.  This 
fact  is  patent.  Therefore  truth  must  change.  There 
can  be  no  enduring  ground  of  certainty;  by  conse- 
quence, no  faith.  At  best,  the  truth  consists  alone  in 
sincerity  to  personal  conviction" — and,  arguing  thus, 
he  ends  by  having  no  conviction.  "Truth,"  says  an- 
other, "is  immutable  and  eternal;  it  can  not  change, 
and,  therefore,  forms  should  not.  No  change  can  be 
compatible  with  faith  whose  essence  is  submission  to 
external  standards.  Accordingly  the  Church  must  hold 
to  these  implicitly,  and,  if  it  have  occasion,  must  en- 
force them  by  the  exercise  of  its  authority" — and, 
arguing  thus,  he  ends  by  exercising,  as  if  in  its  behalf, 
his  own  authority  alone.  The  first  man  goes  astray 
because  he  has  perceived  an  operation  changing  the  for- 
mula, but,  while  perceiving  this,  has  failed  to  recognize 
that  in  the  method  of  the  operation  lies  the  truth;  the 
second  goes  astray  because  he  has  observed  a  method, 
but  has  looked  upon  a  single  aspect  of  it  as  a  mould  to 
which  all  future  aspects  are  to  be  conformed.  He  does 
not  view  it  as  only  the  outward  and  the  transient  phase 
of  that  which  in  its  inward  self  alone  is  enduring. 


TRUTH  AND  SINCERITY  43 

But  he  who  apprehends  that  truth  involves  con- 
formity to  a  method  of  operation,  and  that  the  truth 
involves  conformity  to  one  eternal,  absolute  method, 
need  not  fall  the  prey  of  either  of  these  errors.  Merely 
because  he  perceives  nothing  but  the  changeable  in 
formula,  he  need  not  imagine  that  there  is  no  perma- 
nent truth  at  all  exprest  in  them,  nor  that,  by  conse- 
quence, the  truth  which  all  men  and  the  Bible  exalt, 
and  for  which  he  himself  is  striving,  consists  in  mere 
sincerity.  Sincerity  is  truth  to  self — a  true  expression 
in  outward  speech  and  manner  of  the  processes  of 
thought,  feeling,  and  volition  experienced  within. 
But  a  life  in  accordance  with  the  truth,  altho  implying 
this,  may  include  much  more.  It  may  include  an  ex- 
pression, not  alone  in  outward  bearing,  but  in  inward 
life  as  well — in  processes  of  thought,  feeling,  or  volition, 
whatever  they  may  be — that  accords  with  that  which 
is  understood  by  the  term  the  absolute.  So  far  alone 
as  the  laws  of  the  absolute  are  "  written  upon  one's 
heart"  is  sincerity  to  self  sufficient.  But  otherwise,  if 
one's  inward  life  do  not  accord  with  methods  of  the  uni- 
verse, he  may  be  true  to  himself  and  yet  not  be  true  to  the 
methods  operating  through  all  time  and  in  every  place. 

As  shown  on  page  31,  the  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  in 
order  to  prove  faith  the  attitude  of  soul  acceptable  to 
God,  felt  constrained  to  prove  that  this  was  that 
through  which  in  every  period  of  their  history  the 
Israelites  had  been  saved.*  And  is  there  any  one  who 

*  Rom.  1;  17,  quoting  Hab.  2;  4.     Rom.  4;  3,  quoting  Gen.  15;  6. 


44          THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

fails  to  recognize  the  force  of  an  argument  which  shows 
the  methods  of  one  system  of  religious  life  to  be  not 
different,  but  similar  to  methods  which  have  been  recog- 
nized in  part  in  every  other  system?  However  this 
may  be,  the  truth  of  the  Biblical  religion — what  is  it 
except  conformity  to  the  methods  of  life  equally  ap- 
parent in  the  individual  experience  of  religious  men 
both  before  and  after  the  coming  of  the  Christ?  The 
truth  of  natural  religion — what  is  it  but  conformity  to 
the  methods  equally  apparent  in  the  development  of 
the  soul  and  of  the  forms  of  physical  life  by  which  it  is 
surrounded? 

He  who  recognizes  these  conceptions  can  be  a  friend 
both  to  progress  and  to  permanence.  He  can  argue, 
on  the  one  hand,  that  the  forms  of  truth  may  change, 
and  he  can  maintain,  upon  the  other,  that  the  methods 
working  underneath  these  forms  must  remain  the  same. 
He  can  perceive  the  shifting  of  the  scenery  upon  the 
stage  of  life  without  supposing  that  the  stage  itself  is 
shifting.  He  can  note  the  curtain  falling  without 
imagining  that  it  is  falling  upon  everything  that  he 
should  treasure.  He  can  cease  to  hear  the  murmurs 
of  applause,  and  can  watch  the  retiring  of  the  audience, 
without  surmising  that  all  the  joys  in  store  for  him  are 
left  behind.  He  knows  that,  tho  he  may  no  longer  see 
the  forms  or  listen  to  the  words  that  represented  to  him 
once  all  that  appeared  to  be  the  truth,  this  does  not  in- 
dicate that  the  truth  itself  does  not  exist.  He  knows 
that  while  forms  do  not  and  can  not  last  forever,  the 


TRUTH  AND  CHANGE  45 

methods  of  operation  whose  phases  they  represent  may 
and  must  endure;  and  that  in  them  can  endure  that 
absolute  verity  to  which  all  men,  in  exercising  faith, 
acknowledge  their  allegiance. 

To  certain  readers  conceptions  such  as  these  may 
appear  too  vague  and  insecure.  Their  minds  are  finite, 
and  they  crave  the  definite;  and  not  a  few  of  them  may 
wish  to  walk  by  knowledge,  not  by  faith.  Yet  others 
are  not  so.  To  them  the  suggestions  here  presented 
will  be  welcome  not  alone,  but  stimulating.  For  so 
far  as  the  absolute  truth  is  conceived  to  be  conformity 
to  a  single  method  operating  everywhere,  so  far  it  will 
appear  not  speculative  but  logical  to  infer  that  for  a 
man  to  know  with  thoroughness  a  single  mind  and  a 
single  world  may  be  the  same,  in  kind  tho  not  in  degree, 
as  to  know  the  mind  of  God  and  of  all  the  universe;  and 
this  not  in  a  pantheistic  or  materialistic  sense,  but  in  a 
spiritual  sense,  inasmuch  as  God  reveals  his  character  in 
each  as  well  as  in  all ;  inasmuch  as  his  laws  are  the  laws 
of  one  whose  wisdom  is  so  absolute  that  his  wise  meth- 
ods need  no  alteration. 

To  know  one  mind  may  be  the  same  in  kind  as  to 
know  God!  Is  not  this  a  conception  almost  radiant 
with  suggestions?  Was  it  not  thus  that  Jesus,  the  man, 
could  be  for  us  the  image  of  the  invisible  God,  the  ex- 
pression of  his  character,  and  hence  the  truth?  But 
the  Christ  was  said  to  be  an  elder  brother — the  first- 
born among  many  brethren  (Rom.  8;  29).  Had  he- 
has  he — brethren?  Then  others  besides  the  Christ  can 


46          THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

represent  the  Godhead.  If  so,  when  can  they  do  this? 
It  must  be  when  they  live  according  to  the  truth,  and 
when  also  they  feel  impelled  to  express  to  us  with  truth 
the  thoughts  and  feelings  actuating  them.  But  in  what 
circumstances  do  they  feel  impelled  to  this?  Is  any 
mortal  really  frank  except  among  his  friends?  Is  he 
truthful  save  so  far  as  he  is  loving?  Perfect  love  alone 
casts  out  the  fear  that  causes  diffidence.  It  alone 
prompts  one  to  surrender  wilfulness  to  spontaneity. 
It  alone  enables  him  to  dare  to  open  all  his  heart  to  one 
who  listens  at  his  side.  But  ordinary  men  can  live  the 
truth  only  at  intervals,  or  express  it  to  only  a  single 
soul.  The  Christ  is  claimed  to  be  the  truth  at  all  times 
and  to  every  one.  If  this  claim  be  justified,  he  must 
have  loved  all.  In  the  words, ' '  I  am  the  truth, ' '  he  gave 
the  profoundest  expression  of  this  love.  He  could  not 
have  been  the  one  save  as  he  had  the  other.  So  to 
thoughtful  minds  the  simplest  fact  of  his  history  is 
equally  significant  with  the  Crucifixion  to  which  the 
Church  has  chiefly  called  attention;  only  men  are  gross, 
and  need  the  physical,  material  expression. 

Yet  again,  it  has  been  shown  that  truth  is  possest  in 
the  degree  alone  in  which  it  is  lived,  experienced.  The 
love,  accordingly,  which  causes  others  to  be  frank  is 
efficient  in  imparting  truth  to  us  in  the  degree  alone  in 
which  it  affects  ourselves.  Thus  do  the  laws  of  the 
mind  necessitate  the  methods  of  Christianity.  Christ 
was  the  truth,  but  only  those  who  are  "of  the  truth 
hear"  his  "voice"  (John  18;  37).  Only  those  who  do 


TR  UTH  AND  1 0  VE  47 

the  Father's  will  can  "know  of  the  doctrine"  (John 
7;  17).  Our  friend  may  open  to  our  view  the  workings 
of  his  heart;  but  it  is  friendship,  love,  awakened  in  our- 
selves in  view  of  that  which  he  reveals,  which  measures 
our  appreciation  and  appropriation  of  his  experience. 
Not  so  much,  then,  the  one  that  merely  is  loved  knows 
of  the  godlike  in  a  man,  and  hence  of  God;  but  "every 
one  that  loveth  .  .  .  knoweth  God"  (1  John  4;  7). 

And  who  can  say  that  he  has  never  had  a  friendship, 
a  merely  human  friendship  too,  in  which  there  were 
experiences  akin  to  this ;  from  which  there  were  emitted 
sane tify  ing  influences  like  those  which  might  accom- 
pany the  revelations  of  a  God?  Those  happy  faces 
that  still  flit  before  us  whenever  we  recall  the  fresher 
days  of  youth;  those  friends  who  met  us  in  the  years 
when  our  whole  souls  were  yearning  for  the  knowledge 
of  the  godlike;  those  who  held  to  our  ideals  so  bright  a 
love  that  we  could  never  keep  our  thoughts  from  it; 
those  in  the  sunshine  of  whose  smiles  truth,  that  no 
longer  felt  the  wintry  influence  of  frigid  frowns,  broke 
into  buds  upon  our  lips  and  flowered  all  round  them  in 
our  blushes — were  they  not  the  dearest  messengers 
to  teach  our  souls  of  God?  "Every  one  that  loveth 
.  .  .  knoweth  God."  And  was  not  this — the  knowl- 
edge of  God's  self — the  fond  possession  that  made  our 
blood  so  thrill  in  all  our  pulses,  that  made  our  souls  so 
tremble  as  if  in  ecstasy  to  shake  off  the  robes  of  matter, 
nay,  that  made  this  old  earth  here  itself  a  heaven?  If 
we  knew  God,  indeed,  what  further  blessing  could  ex- 


48         THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

istence  furnish  us?  And  would  not  all  the  blessedness 
of  such  a  state  be  owing  to  a  mood  which  friendship 
had  developed  in  us?  "  Every  one  that  loveth  .  .  . 
knoweth  God." 

There  certainly  is  comfort  to  an  earnest  mind  in  con- 
ceiving that  the  truth,  with  all  its  infinite  essence,  may 
be  learned  through  knowledge  of  some  single  phase 
of  it;  that  a  single  world  may  teach  us  of  the  universe, 
a  single  man,  of  God;  that  we  may  find,  tho  not  in  an 
exclusive  sense,  our  heaven  in  our  household,  and  our 
God  himself  in  every  friend — in  the  least  of  all  his 
children  who  is  hungry  and  is  fed  by  us,  and  is  thirsty 
and  is  given  drink  by  us  (Matt.  25;  35-40). 

The  range  of  truth,  however,  by  considerations  such 
as  these,  is  simplified,  not  only  in  the  realms  of  space, 
but  also  in  the  realms  of  time.  The  experiences  of  life 
are  granted  us  that  we  may  learn  the  truth  through 
them.  How  long  must  life  be  ere  we  shall  have  learned 
it  thoroughly?  The  insect  that  can  flutter  through 
its  brief  existence  in  a  day  can  experience  birth  and 
growth  and  death  as  truly  as  the  mastodon.  A  few 
words  or  a  few  deeds  may  reveal  to  us  the  character  of 
a  friend.  Through  them  we  may  learn  his  methods 
of  believing,  feeling,  doing ;  through  them  we  may  learn 
the  truth  concerning  him.  A  few  words  from  the 
book  of  revelation,  a  few  evolutions  in  the  works  of 
nature — why  may  they  not  reveal  to  us,  with  equal 
certainty,  the  character  of  him  who  is  the  eternal,  the 
infinite,  and  the  absolute? 


TRUTH  AND  LIFE  49 

When  the  Christ  declared  that  every  one  who  was 
of  the  truth  would  hear  his  voice,  whom  did  he  mean 
to  mention?  Only  souls  that  could  speak  wisely  of  a 
long  experience?  Only  the  men  whose  feeble  feet  had 
traveled  through  the  whole  hard  path  of  life,  whose 
limbs  were  tottering  on  the  borders  of  a  grave  from 
which,  perhaps,  they  shrank  •  in  fear  of  an  offended 
Deity?  Did  he  not  mean  the  little  children  also,  who, 
perhaps,  could  not  articulate  a  sound,  whose  limbs 
were  tottering  too,  but  not  from  heaviness,  and  who 
shrank  too,  but  not  from  that  sweet  face  which  had 
gazed  upon  them  through  harsh  crowds  that  would 
have  kept  them  back  from  him?  The  eternal,  the  in- 
finite, and  the  absolute  truth — think  not  that  a  mor- 
tal's share  of  it  can  be  measured  in  the  scales  of  time 
or  of  space.  "One  day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand 
years "  (2  Pet.  3;  8).  The  soul  of  a  little  child  that  dies 
is  riper  than  we  think,  perhaps.  Some  of  the  smallest 
in  the  graveyards  may  have  lived  the  truth  in  a  deeper 
sense  than  those  whom  men  call  great.  Are  any  of  us 
certain  that  it  would  have  been  worse  for  us  had  we  died 
early?  Is  there  not  much  promise  in  a  promise  of  per- 
petual youth?  Are  not  the  cherub  faces  crowded  on 
the  canvas  of  the  artist  a  vague  prophecy  of  some 
superior  joyousness  and  beauty  in  the  children  who  go 
forth  to  live  as  children  evermore  within  the  realms 
of  spirit?  How  is  it  with  mortals  when  they  linger 
longer  here?  Let  withering  lips  and  deathlike  coun- 
tenances tell.  We  have  our  good  things — Heaven 


50          THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

forgive  us  that  we  call  them  good! — on  earth.  And 
is  this  wretched  and  distorted  lie  into  which  the  earth 
has  shaped  so  many  of  us,  to  speak  and  do  and  be  our- 
selves forever?  And  if  we  be  not  satisfied  with  what 
this  world  can  make  of  us,  if  we  rebel  against  it,  what 
comes  then?  To  the  Christ,  who  spake,  and  did,  and 
was  the  truth,  the  world  cried,  " Crucify  him!  crucify 
him!"  It  is  so  with  many  still.  For  them  to  speak 
the  truth  is  death  to  influence,  to  do  the  truth  is  death 
to  position,  and  to  be  the  truth — this  is  to  complete 
the  aim  of  life.  It  is  to  be  sacrificed,  to  die,  and  to  live 
in  spirit  only.  Yet  this  fate  may  not  be  without  its 
compensations.  In  the  last  address  of  the  Christ  to  his 
disciples — the  same  in  which  he  prophesied  his  coming 
Crucifixion — he  also  said,  "  These  things  have  I  spoken 
unto  you,  that  my  joy  might  remain  in  you,  and  that 
your  joy  might  be  full"  (John  15;  11). 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  MIND'S  SUSCEPTIBILITY  TO  SPIRITUAL  OR  INSPIRA- 
TIONAL, AS  CONTRASTED  WITH  MATERIAL,  INFLUENCES 

To  What  Men  Refer  When  Using  the  Term  Inspiration— When  Using 
the  Term  Spiritual — Considered  an  Influence  Not  Traceable  to  the 
Conscious  Sphere  of  the  Mind — But  Traceable  to  or  Through  an 
Inner  or  Subconscious  Sphere — Proofs  of  the  Existence  of  This 
Sphere,  as  in  Memory,  Fright,  Fever,  Hypnotism — Subconscious 
Philosophical  and  Mathematical  Intellection — Resulting  from 
Previous  Conscious  Action,  as  in  Skill — Not  Resulting  from 
Previous  Conscious  Action  :  Coburn,  Mozart,  Blind  Tom — Sub- 
conscious Diagnosis  of  Disease  at  a  Distance  — Subconscious 
Apprehension  of  Distant  Occurrences — Both  in  Space  and  Time — 
Mind-Reading  —  Automatic  Writing — Apparitions  —  Connection 
Between  Such  Facts  and  Belief  in  a  Future  State  of  Rewards  and 
Punishments  —  Often  Attributed  to  Natural  Material  Causes  — 
Should  Be  Attributed  to  Influences  from  Nature's  Occult  Side 
— Shown  in  Susceptibility  of  the  Primitive,  Uneducated  Man  to 
Such  Influences— Instinct  and  Reason— Instinctive  and  Rational- 
Instinctive  and  Religious — Instinctive  and  Animal — Story  of  the 
Fall — The  Mental  Actions  of  Animals — Of  Negroes,  Indians,  and 
Those  Subject  to  Hallucinations,  with  Inferences  Therefrom— 
Like  Inferences  with  Reference  to  the  Origin  of  Religion  Drawn 
from  Primitive  Religious  Customs — With  Growth  of  Intelligence, 
Physical  Occult  Manifestations  Are  Considered  Less  Important 
Than  Verbal— But  the  Verbal  Continue  to  Be  Associated  with 
Subconscious  Intellection. 

We  have  been  considering  the  nature  of  truth  as 
determined  by  that  which  men  show  that  they  seek 
when  searching  for  it,  by  that  which  they  suppose  them- 
selves to  find  when  obtaining  it,  and  by  that  which  they 
do  when  receiving  or  imparting  its  influence.  The  ob- 
ject of  this  volume  is  to  inquire  into  the  nature,  not 

51 


52          THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

only  of  truth  in  general,  but  of  that  particular  depart- 
ment of  it — already  discust  to  some  extent,  but  not 
fundamentally — which  is  termed  the  truth  of  inspira- 
tion. It  becomes  incumbent  upon  us  now,  therefore, 
in  accordance  with  the  purpose  indicated  on  page  9, 
to  gain  a  clear  understanding,  if  we  can,  of  what  is 
meant  by  inspiration.  The  word  itself  may  indicate 
in  part  an  answer  to  this  question.  Those  using  and 
justifying  the  term  believe  in  an  inner  as  distinguished 
from  an  outer  influence  exerted  upon  the  mind,  and  at- 
tributable to  a  spiritual  source.  They  may  acknowl- 
edge that  a  man  may  be  inspired  in  connection  with 
what  he  hears  or  sees,  as  by  a  patriotic  song  or  a  flag ; 
but  they  do  not  acknowledge  any  necessary  or  inevitable 
connection  between  the  external  object  and  the  effect. 
They  point  out  that  another  man,  standing  by  the  side 
of  the  first,  might  be  conscious  of  no  inspiring  influence ; 
and  also  that  vast  numbers  of  those  subject  to  this 
influence  experience  it  irrespective  of  any  appeal  what- 
ever to  any  of  the  senses;  and  the  source  of  this  appeal, 
because  not  necessitating,  in  order  to  make  itself  felt, 
any  such  material  agency,  is  termed  spiritual. 

This  term  spiritual,  as  thus  used,  is  very  broad  and 
varied  in  its  meaning.  But  one  fact  may  be  said  to  be 
uniformly  true  of  it.  It  always  refers  to  an  effect  ex- 
perienced within  the  mind,  which  effect,  tho  it  may  be 
an  indirect  result,  is  never  a  direct  result  of  anything 
seen,  heard,  felt,  smelt,  or  tasted  in  the  external  world. 
Some,  however,  conceive  of  the  effect  as  not  external 


INSPIRATION  53 

or  material  in  the  sense  only  of  being  mental — i.e.,  as 
having  been  derived  or  developed  in  one's  own  mind. 
Others — and  well-nigh  all  religionists — conceive  of  the 
effect  as  one  produced,  without  the  necessary  inter- 
vention of  the  senses,  by  one  mind  upon  another. 
They  differ,  however,  when  trying  to  determine  what 
or  whose  mind  it  is  that  produces  the  effect.  One 
holds  that  it  is  the  mind  of  some  person  now  living  upon 
the  earth;  another,  of  some  spirit  that  formerly  lived 
upon  the  earth;  another,  of  some  intelligence  of  a  differ- 
ent order  from  any  that  has  ever  lived  upon  the  earth; 
and,  finally,  another,  that  it  is  the  mind  of  the  Deity. 
The  first  may  be  said  to  be,  in  the  main,  the  view  of  the 
mere  psychologist;  the  second,  the  view  of  the  modern 
spiritist;  the  third,  the  view  of  some  spiritists,  and  of 
many  Christians,  especially  Catholics;  and  the  fourth, 
the  view  of  the  majority  of  orthodox  Protestants.  The 
Bible,  in  mentioning  the  effects  of  the  Apostles'  preach- 
ing (Acts  17;  1-4),  the  reappearances  of  Moses  and 
Elias  (Matt.  17;  3),  and  the  appearances  of  angels  of 
God  (Acts  27;  23),  as  well  as  of  the  Lord  (Jer.  31;  3), 
and  of  God  (2  Chron.  1 ;  7),  seems  to  sanction  all  four 
views.  Even  this  fact,  however,  tho  acknowledged, 
does  not  reconcile  the  conservative  Christian  to  spirit- 
ism. Because  of  the  passage  in  Rev.  22;  18,  "For  I 
testify  unto  every  man  that  heareth  the  words  of  the 
prophecy  of  this  Book,  If  any  man  shall  add  unto 
these  things,  God  shall  add  unto  him  the  plagues  that 
are  written  in  this  Book/7  which  passage  is  taken  to 


54          THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

refer  not  merely  to  the  Book  of  the  Revelation,  but  to 
the  whole  Scriptures,  he  maintains  that  all  that  can 
be  rightly  deemed  inspired  revelation  has  ceased.  To 
account,  however,  for  cases  in  which  new  doctrines 
have  apparently  been  proclaimed,  some  Episcopalians 
and  all  Catholics  hold  that  certain  officials  of  the  Church, 
individually,  or  assembled  in  lawful  councils,  are  di- 
vinely guided  to  interpret  the  " truth  once  delivered" 
(Jude,  3);  and  are  sometimes  inspired  to  develop  it 
even  to  the  extent,  in  connection  with  councils  of  the 
Church,  of  giving  it  unf  ore  tokened  meanings.  This 
attributing  of  inspired  authority  to  develop  the  truth 
is  paralleled  by  a  somewhat  similar  authority  attributed 
by  Mohammedans,  Mormons,  and  New  Churchmen  to 
their  respective  religious  leaders.  It  is  worth  while  to 
notice  also  that  even  some  who  profess  to  believe  that 
revelation  is  no  longer  imparted  through  inspiration, 
nevertheless  seem  inclined  to  judge  the  trustworthi- 
ness of  those  who  interpret  the  traditional  doctrines  by 
tests  suggesting  a  different  opinion.  Some  Presby- 
terians have  a  subtle  belief  in  the  inspiration  of  the 
answer  in  the  Westminister  Catechism  to  the  question, 
"What  is  God?"  because  this  answer  was  originally 
composed  of  the  first  few  unpremeditated  words  of  a 
prayer  that  ended  a  discussion  in  which  no  one  had 
been  able  to  think  out  a  satisfactory  definition.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  there  are  not  a  large  number  of  in- 
telligent people  who  have  in  them  a  little  of  the  same 
feeling  that  made  the  old  Seventh-day-Baptist  min- 


INSPIRATION  55 

isters,  after  reaching  their  pulpits,  open  their  Bibles 
and  take  the  first  text  to  which  a  casual  undirected 
finger  would  point.  We  have  probably  all  heard  of 
one  of  their  sermons — on  Cant.  2;  12.  "The  voice  of 
the  turtle  is  heard  in  our  land  " — "  Brethren,  you  know 
the  turtle  ain't  got  no  voice.  But  on  a  summer  evening 
as  you're  a-walkin'  a-nigh  the  pools,  you  hear  the 
turtles  a-droppin'  off  the  logs  into  the  water.  The 
voice  of  the  turtle  is  the  sound  of  a  droppin'  into  the 
water,  the  sound  of  a  baptism,  the  sound  of  a  joinin'  of 
the  Church — that's  the  sound  of  the  good  time  comin7." 
It  must  be  owing,  too,  to  some  belief  in  present  relig- 
ious inspiration  that,  to-day,  the  most  popular  ideal 
of  a  distinctively  religious  teacher,  to  say  nothing  of  a 
prophet,  excludes  anything  supposed  to  call  particular 
attention  to  his  own  conscious  intellection,  or  even  to 
his  own  intellect.  He  may  possess,  and  add  to  his  in- 
fluence by  possessing,  accuracy  of  observation,  breadth 
of  information,  and  brilliancy  of  style,  but  it  is  felt  that 
the  value  of  his  work  does  not  depend  mainly  upon 
them.  He  is  supposed  to  be  guided  to  his  utterance 
by  a  spiritual  agency  that  works  within  him,  and 
which  can,  occasionally,  make  the  words  of  an  ignorant 
fisherman  or  a  weak  child  as  enlightening  and  uplifting 
as  those  coming  from  the  lips  of  the  most  learned  scholar 
and  skilful  advocate. 

Such  facts  as  these  are  sufficient  to  indicate  among 
religionists  a  belief  in  an  inner  or  occult  sphere  of  the 
mind  which  can  be  influenced  in  other  ways  than 


56          THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

through  the  senses.  Let  us  notice  now  some  of  the 
proofs  that  may  be  adduced  in  order  to  confirm  this 
belief.  To  begin  with,  all  philosophers  admit — tho 
they  may  explain  differently — the  existence  of  this 
occult  mental  sphere.  Of  its  operations,  a  man  is 
ordinarily  unconscious;  and  of  its  results  he  can  know 
so  far  only  as  they  may  influence  another  sphere  of 
which  he  is  ordinarily  conscious.  So  different,  in  fact, 
are  the  operations  in  these  two  spheres,  often  engaged, 
as  we  shall  find,  in  carrying  on  at  the  same  time  two 
different  processes  of  thought  (see  page  62),  that  they 
have  been  termed — tho,  of  course,  not  with  scientific 
exactness,  as  the  reader  will  understand  whenever  sug- 
gestions of  this  are  made  hereafter — two  minds,  namely, 
the  conscious  and  the  subconscious,  which  latter  term 
is  used  to  indicate  a  mind  of  some  of  the  results  of 
which  we  are  conscious,  but  of  the  processes  of  which 
we  are  unconscious.  It  is  noteworthy,  too,  that,  even 
in  the  physical  frame,  there  are  indications  of  duality 
in  the  mental  constitution.  Not  only  are  there  two 
separate  lobes  in  the  brain,  each  apparently  containing 
a  separate  set  of  mental  organs,  but  there  are  two 
systems  of  nerves  connecting  the  brain  with  the  rest  of 
the  body.  It  has  not  been  proved  that,  of  the  two  lobes 
in  the  brain,  one  is  the  seat  of  conscious  and  the  other 
of  subconscious  action;  but  this  has  been  proved  of  the 
two  sets  of  nerves.  Those  of  the  cerebrospinal  system, 
which  move  the  hands,  limbs,  and  the  facial  and  vocal 
organs,  are  controlled  by  conscious  action;  those  of 


THE  SUBCONSCIOUS  SPHERE  OF  MIND      57 

the  sympathetic  system,  which  move  the  circulatory 
and  digestive  organs,  are  controlled  by  subconscious 
action.  To  complete  the  correspondence,  as  prepara- 
tory to  observing  the  way  in  which  the  conscious  and 
the  subconscious  spheres  often  work  conjointly,  it  is 
well  to  notice,  also,  that  there  are  certain  movements, 
like  winking  and  breathing,  which  can  be  carried  on 
both  consciously  and  unconsciously. 

In  considering  these  two  spheres  of  mental  activity 
and  the  relations  between  them,  it  is  unnecessary  to 
dwell  upon  the  sphere  of  which  we  are  conscious.  But 
it  is  important,  for  a  proper  realization  of  all  the  bear- 
ings upon  religion  of  that  which  we  are  now  discussing 
to  develop,  for  a  little,  certain  facts  and  inferences  with 
reference  to  the  subconscious  sphere.  The  facts  with 
which  we  are  most  familiar  are  afforded,  perhaps,  by 
memory.  The  mind  is  constantly  recalling  experi- 
ences of  which  it  has  been  so  thoroughly  oblivious  that 
they  have  been  supposed  to  have  been  lost.  But 
equally  conclusive  evidences  of  the  same  subconscious 
possibility  may  be  furnished  by  other  mental  processes. 
When  trains  of  thought  are  conducting  to  conclusions 
with  the  rapidity  of  lightning,  what  is  the  mind  doing 
but  making  use  of  stores  not  only,  but  of  methods  that 
are  not  outside  of  it  but  in  it,  and  yet  are  hidden  so 
deeply  in  it  as  to  be  beyond  the  reach  of  any  conscious 
control?  In  normal  mental  action  we  are  only  partly 
aware  of  the  extent  and  importance  of  these  stores, 
and  may  be  startled  to  hear  it  stated  that,  probably, 


58          THE  PSYCH OL OGY  OP  INSP1RA Tl Otf 

nothing  whatever  that  a  man  has  ever  seen,  heard, 
touched,  tasted,  smelled,  or,  by  the  slightest  practise, 
developed  into  the  suggestion  of  a  habit,  is  lost,  but 
remains  indelibly  imprest  upon  the  intellect  and 
character.  Nevertheless  such  seems  to  be  the  case. 
Captain  Frederick  Marryat,  author  of  "The  Adventures 
of  a  Naval  Officer,"  relates  that  at  one  time  he  jumped 
into  the  sea  to  save  a  sailor's  life,  and,  on  rising,  found 
himself  in  the  midst  of  blood,  giving  evidence  of  the 
presence  of  a  shark.  Between  that  moment  and  the 
moment  almost  immediately  following,  when  he  was 
rescued,  he  reexperienced,  according  to  his  story,  about 
everything  that  he  had  ever  done  or  said  or  thought. 
Coleridge  states,  in  his  "Biographia  Literaria,"  that  in 
a  German  village  near  Gottingen  a  young  woman, 
twenty-five  years  of  age,  who  could  neither  read  nor 
write,  was  seized  with  a  fever.  While  in  this  state  she 
kept  constantly  repeating  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew. 
Her  physician,  being  of  a  scientific  turn,  traced  back 
her  history.  He  found  that  she  had  once  been  a  serv- 
ant in  the  house  of  a  Protestant  pastor.  This  man 
had  been  in  the  habit,  while  walking  up  and  down  in  a 
passage  into  which  the  kitchen  opened,  of  reading  in  a 
loud  voice  Latin,  Greek,  and  rabbinical  Hebrew. 
Many  of  the  very  phrases,  which  the  physician  had 
taken  down  in  writing  at  her  bedside,  were  found  in 
the  rabbinical  books  in  this  man's  library. 

Results  analogous  to  these — occasioned,  as  will  be 
noticed,  in  the  one  case  by  fright  and  in  the  other  by 


HYPNOTISM  59 

fever — may  be  produced  by  hypnotism.  That  hypno- 
tism exists  as  a  fact,  no  one  informed  with  reference 
to  the  subject  now  thinks  of  denying.  An  influence 
that  can  enable  a  patient,  without  being  conscious  of 
pain,  to  have  a  tooth  pulled  or  a  limb  amputated  is  a 
reality.  An  influence,  not  induced  by  another,  but 
apparently  self-induced  by  nervous  excitement,  which 
can  cause  our  Southern  negroes  in  revival  meetings  to 
fall  down  as  if  dead,  and  fail  to  feel  pins  vigorously 
stuck  into  them — a  fact  which  many  have  confirmed — 
is  a  reality.  This  much  being  conceded  to  hypnotic 
influence,  perhaps  it  should  be  added  here,  in  prepara- 
tion for  several  references  that  will  be  made  to  the 
subject  hereafter,  that  there  is  every  reason  for  sup- 
posing that  the  immediate  effect  of  the  condition,  like 
that  of  fright  and  of  fever,  is  physical  rather  than,  as 
sometimes  supposed,  mental.  It  may  be  described  as 
a  method  of  putting  the  conscious  body  and,  through 
it,  the  conscious  sphere  of  the  mind  to  sleep.  When 
this  has  been  done,  that  which  is  in  subconsciousness 
may  be  made  to  wake  up,  and  to  take  charge  of  the 
body's  organs  of  expression.  But  there  is  no  proof 
that  hypnotism  does  any  more  than  furnish  an  oppor- 
tunity, availing  itself  of  which  the  subconscious  can 
exercise  its  influence  in  a  way  normal  to  itself,  yet  not 
ordinarily  observed  because  hidden  behind  the  activi- 
ties of  consciousness.  The  germs  of  thought  from 
which  the  conceptions  of  the  hypnotic  patient  are  de- 
veloped are  often  very  elementary  in  character.  Sub- 


60          THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

jects  possessing  no  oratorical  gifts,  for  instance,  are 
told  to  personate  some  famous  public  speaker,  and 
at  once  they  set  out,  and,  with  apparent  ease,  deliver 
addresses  closely  resembling  not  only  in  method  but  in 
phraseology  some  speech  of  this  man  which  they  have 
previously  heard  or  read,  tho  only  in  an  extremely 
superficial  and  heedless  way.  The  author  himself 
knows  of  a  reasonably  authentic  instance,  being  per- 
sonally acquainted  with  all  the  parties  concerned,  in 
which — tho  in  the  presence,  indeed,  of  one  familiar 
with  the  Italian  language,  which  fact  may  have  in- 
fluenced the  result — a  man  who  knew  nothing  of  this 
language,  when  hypnotized  by  another,  who  also  knew 
nothing  of  it,  was  made  to  sing,  with  correct  Italian 
words  and  pronunciation,  a  song  which  the  subject  had 
heard  but  once,  and  this  years  before. 

This  occult  action  of  the  mind,  of  which  we  are 
speaking,  is  not  confined,  however,  to  memory.  If  it 
were,  its  results  could  all  be  allied  to  the  ordinary  phe- 
nomena of  recollection,  of  which  it  would  merely  be  an 
unusual  development.  Similar  action  is  evident  in 
connection  with  logical  and  mathematical  processes, 
and  even  with  those  involving  skill,  which  would 
appear,  at  first  thought,  especially  dependent  upon 
conscious  direction.  Von  Hartmann,  in  his  "  Philoso- 
phy of  the  Unconscious,"  as  translated  by  W.  C.  Coup- 
land,  quotes  this  passage  from  Jessen's  "Psychology": 
"When  we  reflect  on  anything  with  the  whole  force  of 
our  mind,  we  may  fall  into  a  state  of  entire  unconscious- 


SUBCONSCIOUS  INTELLECTION  61 

ness,  in  which  we  not  only  forget  the  outer  world,  but 
also  know  nothing  at  all  of  ourselves  and  the  thoughts 
passing  within  us.  After  a  shorter  or  longer  time,  we 
then  suddenly  awake  as  from  a  dream,  and  usually  at 
the  same  moment  the  result  of  our  meditation  appears 
clearly  and  distinctly  in  consciousness  without  our 
knowing  how  we  have  reached  it.  Also,  in  less  severe 
meditation,  there  occur  moments  in  which  a  perfect 
vacancy  of  thought  is  combined  with  a  consciousness  of 
our  own  mental  effort,  to  which,  in  the  next  moment, 
a  more  vivid  stream  of  thought  succeeds.  Certainly, 
some  practise  is  required  to  combine  serious  reflection 
with  simultaneous  self-observation,  as  the  endeavor 
to  observe  thoughts  in  their  origin  and  their  succes 
sion  may  easily  produce  disturbances  of  thinking  and 
arrest  the  evolution  of  our  thoughts.  Repeated  at- 
tempts, however,  put  us  in  a  position  clearly  to  per- 
ceive that,  in  fact,  in  every  arduous  reflection  a  con- 
stant ebb  and  flow  of  thoughts,  as  it  were,  takes  place 
—a  moment  in  which  all  thoughts  disappear  from 
consciousness,  and  only  the  consciousness  of  an  inner 
mental  strain  remains,  and  a  moment  in  which  the 
thoughts  stream  in,  in  greater  fulness,  and  distinctly 
emerge  into  consciousness.  The  lower  the  ebb,  the 
stronger  the  succeeding  flood  is  wont  to  be;  the  stronger 
the  previous  inner  tension,  the  stronger  and  livelier  the 
contents  of  the  emerging  thoughts."  Whether  or  not 
the  reader  has  ever  been  able  to  detect  these  two  proc- 
esses in  his  own  thinking,  he  may,  at  least,  recognize 


62          THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

that  others  have  done  so ;  and  it  is  in  logical  accordance 
with  the  inferences  derived  from  the  existence  of  both 
processes  that  certain  scholars  have  maintained  that 
by  fixing  their  attention  in  the  evening  just  before  re- 
tiring for  the  night  upon  some  subject — whether  de- 
tails to  be  committed  to  memory  or  problems  to  be 
solved — they  could  find  their  work  very  much  furthered 
if  not  wholly  completed,  in  the  morning.  It  is  said 
that  the  astronomer  Kepler  used  to  practise  upon 
this  theory. 

The  fact  of  the  existence,  side  by  side,  of  mental 
action  both  subconscious  and  conscious  is  much  more 
easy  to  prove  than  most  of  us  are  aware.  How  often 
have  we  heard  a  friend  unconsciously  hum  or  even  sing 
aloud  in  perfect  time  and  tune  a  song,  while  his  con- 
scious energies  were  directed  toward  the  accomplish- 
ment of  a  task  entirely  different  in  character!  We 
are  all  more  or  less  familiar,  too,  with  the  conditions 
under  which  a  conscious  action,  or  series  of  actions, 
may  be  made  to  become  unconscious.  Every  one  who 
has  acquired  skill  in  any  department  knows  that  it  is  a 
result  of  practise  continued  until  the  mind  has  become 
enabled  to  superintend  a  large  number  of  details  with- 
out having  any  of  them  clearly  in  consciousness.  Every 
musician,  for  instance,  is  aware  that  after  repeating  a 
composition  on  the  piano  the  execution  may  become 
so  familiar  that  his  fingers  will  play  it  automatically, 
as  it  were,  while  his  thoughts  are  very  intently  fixt 
upon  something  else,  possibly  upon  the  general  ex- 


COBURN  AND  MOZART  63 

pression  of  the  theme  of  the  music,  possibly  upon  some- 
thing having  nothing  to  do  with  this  art  in  any  form. 

When  the  subconscious  action  of  the  mind  takes 
place  in  connection  with  processes  which  a  man  has 
learned  and  mastered,  we  may  always  attribute  it,  as 
we  do  recollection,  to  previous  conscious  action.  But 
there  are  cases  in  which  previous  conscious  action  has 
had  nothing  to  do  with  the  subconscious  action.  As 
illustrating  what  is  meant,  take  first  the  cases  of  light- 
ning calculators,  as  they  are  termed — many  of  them 
mere  children,  who  have  hardly  mastered  reading  and 
writing,  much  less  arithmetic.  In  a  way  apparently 
unknown  to  themselves,  they  are  able  to  solve  the  most 
intricate  mathematical  problem  almost  as  rapidly  as 
it  can  be  read  to  them.  Zerah  Coburn  was  but  eight 
years  old  when  exhibited  before  audiences  of  the  fore- 
most mathematicians  of  his  time.  Here,  according  to 
the  English  " Annual  Register"  of  1812,  are  two  of  the 
questions  asked  him,  and  answered  before  the  numbers 
could  be  written  down:  "What  is  the  square  root  of 
106,929?"  "What  is  the  cube  root  of  268,336,125?" 
Or  take,  again,  the  cases  of  musicians  able  to  execute 
apparently  the  most  difficult  compositions  without 
having  gone  through  any  previous  study  or  practise. 
Mozart  was  only  three  years  old  when  he  began  to  play 
in  public  concerts,  and  when  only  eight  years  old  he 
had  composed  a  symphony  for  a  full  orchestra.  He 
was,  however,  the  son  of  a  musician,  and  his  facility 
might  be  attributed  to  some  extent  to  his  surroundings 


64          THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

or  to  heredity.  But  neither  of  these  reasons  can  in  any 
way  account  for  the  performances  of  others.  There 
is  for  instance,  in  our  own  country,  Blind  Tom,  as  he 
is  called.  He  is  an  exceptionally  ignorant  negro,  yet 
he  can  remember  and  execute,  apparently,  any  compo- 
sition that  has  been  played  but  once  before  him;  and 
on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  he  can  sometimes  add  to 
what  he  has  heard  "variations"  as  successful  as  the 
average  of  those  resulting  from  long  hours  of  labor  on 
the  part  of  educated  musicians. 

In  these  cases,  the  ultimate  results  of  subconscious 
mentality  are  not  essentially  different  from  what  might 
be  expected  if  facility  were  acquired  through  practise 
directed  by  conscious  effort.  It  is  possible  to  conceive 
of  thoroughly  educated  mathematicians  and  musicians 
who,  after  long  experience,  might  produce  effects  ex- 
actly similar  to  those  that  have  just  been  mentioned. 
We  can  only  say  of  these  latter  effects  that  in  them  the 
subconscious  facility  was  not  acquired  through  con- 
scious effort  as  a  fact.  But  now,  going  a  step  farther, 
we  shall  find  that  there  are  cases  in  which  it  could  not 
have  been  acquired  thus  as  a  possibility.  We  shall 
find  that  subconscious  or  occult  action  is  sometimes 
influenced  by  conditions  or  occurrences  with  which 
the  mind  could  not  have  become  acquainted  through 
the  eyes  or  ears,  or  by  any  method  through  which  one 
ordinarily  obtains  or  develops  knowledge  or  thought. 
The  following  is  an  illustration  of  such  a  case.  Some 
years  ago,  Professor  John  W.  Churchill,  of  Andover 


OCCULT  PERCEPTION  OF  THE  DISTANT     65 

Theological  Seminary,  gave  the  author  permission  to 
use  the  following  story.  In  order  to  try  an  experiment, 
the  professor  said  that  he  obtained  the  names  and  ad- 
dresses of  two  persons  in  Boston,  of  whom  he  knew 
nothing,  except  that  they  were  patients  of  a  physician 
of  his  acquaintance.  With  these  addresses  in  his  pos- 
session, he  called  upon  a  certain  Dr.  Tucker,  residing 
in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  This  man,  a  graduate  of  the 
Harvard  Medical  School,  claimed  to  have  discovered 
in  himself,  soon  after  beginning  to  practise,  a  peculiar 
supernormal  gift.  The  professor  wished  to  test  it. 
"Can  you  prescribe,"  he  asked,  "for  a  person  now  in 
Boston?"  "I  think  so,"  said  the  doctor.  "Have 
you  his  address?"  The  professor  read  one  of  the  ad- 
dresses that  he  had  brought.  "I  will  go,"  said  the 
doctor,  "and  see  the  patient."  Then,  placing  his 
hand  on  his  brow,  he  began  to  talk  something  like  this: 
"Number  — ,  Blank  Street.  Yes,  I  see — red  brick 
house — two  stories — bay  window  on  the  first  floor.  I 
enter — a  winding  stairway.  The  patient  is  in  the 
second-story  front  room — a  lady — blonde — blue  eyes 
—rather  stout — about  thirty-five  years  old — is  trou- 
bled," etc.,  describing  her  symptoms  and  ending  with 
a  diagnosis  arid  prescription.  After  attending  to  this 
patient,  the  physician  went  through  a  similar  process 
with  reference  to  the  other.  Professor  Churchill 
handed  a  copy  of  what  had  been  said,  as  taken  down  by 
the  Brooklyn  physician's  stenographer,  to  the  physician 
in  Boston.  "Everything  here,"  said  this  physician, 


66         THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

"is  as  accurate  as  it  would  be  if  the  one  who  dictated 
it  had  come  here  by  rail,  visited  the  houses,  and  heard 
the  patients  describe  their  own  symptoms."  In  olden 
times — possibly  in  some  places  in  our  own  time — a 
physician  whose  mind  could  act  in  this  way  would  be 
considered  to  be  under  the  influence  of  divine  inspira- 
tion. But  it  can  be  shown  that  Dr.  Tucker  was  not  so. 
The  ability  to  work  "signs  and  wonders"  of  this  kind 
does  not  necessarily  guarantee  the  truth  of  the  words 
uttered  by  the  workers  of  them.  The  author  knows  of 
at  least  one  patient — a  son  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  M.  Lud- 
low,  of  Orange,  N.  J. — with  reference  to  whom  the 
occult  diagnosis  of  this  physician,  tho  agreeing  with 
that  of  other  eminent  physicians  consulted,  was  shown 
by  a  post-mortem  examination  to  have  been  unmistak- 
ably erroneous.  Yet  a  previous  description,  super- 
normally  given,  of  the  symptoms  and  appearance  of 
the  patient  had  been  as  accurate  as  in  the  cases  men- 
tioned above. 

In  these  cases  the  mind  seems  to  have  been  able  to 
control  the  course  of  its  occult  activity,  and  to  examine 
symptoms,  and  to  exercise  judgment,  when  as  far  from 
its  own  body  as  Boston  is  from  Brooklyn.  Here  is 
another  case  in  which  no  such  control  was  exercised. 
Yet  the  conditions  at  a  distance  were  just  as  accurately 
perceived.  Notice,  too,  how  thoroughly  the  circum- 
stances justify  such  a  use  as  is  made  in  "Macbeth"  of 
the  appearance  of  Banquo's  ghost.  The  story  was 
related  to  the  author  by  an  eye-witness,  General  Karge, 


OCCULT  PERCEPTION  OF  THE  DISTANT       67 

a  successful  officer  in  our  war  of  secession,  and,  for 
about  twenty  years,  a  professor  in  Princeton  College. 
He  presented  the  story  as  one  of  other  reasons  leading 
to  his  giving  up  certain  wholly  materialistic  views  of 
life,  into  which  he  had  fallen  in  early  manhood.  He 
said  that  during  the  war  of  secession,  while  recruiting 
in  New  York  City,  he  was  on  Fourteenth  Street,  opposite 
the  Academy  of  Music,  taking  supper  in  the  rooms  of 
an  Austrian  military  engineer  who  also  was  in  the  serv- 
ice of  our  government.  This  Austrian  had  a  son,  a 
graduate  of  the  military  school  of  Hanover,  Germany, 
who,  some  months  before  this,  with  his  father's  con- 
nivance, had  eloped  from  that  place  with  the  daughter 
of  a  Jewish  banker,  whose  consent  to  her  marriage 
could  not  be  obtained.  According  to  Jewish  customs, 
the  banker,  after  his  daughter's  flight,  had  gone  through 
a  ceremony  in  his  synagogue  excommunicating  and 
anathematizing  her  for  marrying  against  his  will  and 
outside  her  race.  Very  naturally  this  ceremony  had 
had  a  serious  effect  upon  the  daughter's  mind.  At  the 
time  of  the  occurrence  about  to  be  related,  the  Jewess 
was  presiding  at  the  table  at  which  the  engineer  and  the 
general  were  seated,  her  husband  being  absent.  Sud- 
denly, her  hand,  which  happened  to  be  holding  a  cup 
of  tea,  and  her  whole  frame  began  to  quiver;  then,  with 
a  frightened  look  upon  her  face,  she  shrieked  out  in 
German,  "My  father  is  dead!  My  father  is  dead!"  and 
fell  senseless  to  the  floor.  A  physician  was  summoned, 
but  the  lady,  tho  partially  restored  physically,  did  not, 


68          THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

for  a  long  time  at  least,  recover  her  reason.  Soon  after 
the  physician  had  arrived,  the  Austrian  engineer  and 
the  general,  in  talking  over  the  circumstances,  decided 
to  take  down  the  exact  time  of  the  day.  They  did  so, 
and  three  weeks  later — telegraphic  communication  be- 
tween Europe  and  America  had  not  then  been  estab- 
lished— they  received  information  that  the  banker  had 
died  in  Germany  at  virtually  the  same  hour  at  which 
the  events  just  described  had  taken  place  in  New 
York. 

Exactly  what  was  the  form  assumed  by  the  impres- 
sions conveyed  to  this  Jewess  the  general  never  ascer- 
tained. It  never  was  feasible  to  do  so,  owing  to  her 
mental  condition.  But  that  sometimes  in  such  cases 
persons  are  seen,  and  at  other  times  words  are  heard, 
seems  abundantly  proved.  Certain  reports  made  to 
the  English  Society  of  Psychical  Research,  published 
by  Meyers  &  Gurney  in  a  volume  entitled  "Phan- 
tasms of  the  Living,"  contain  accounts  of  something 
like  six  hundred  experiences  of  the  same  general  char- 
acter, all  occurring  in  our  own  times,  and  confirmed 
by  the  testimony  of  at  least  two  persons.  Many  of 
these  persons,  too,  who  all  give  their  names  and  ad- 
dresses, are  widely  known.  One  remarkable  feature  of 
such  occurrences  is  that,  in  an  occult  way,  they  make 
known  not  only  that  which  is  distant  in  space,  but 
sometimes  also  future  in  time,  nothing,  perhaps,  being 
better  authenticated  than  the  experience  which  certain 
persons  have  of  premonitions.  Nor  is  there  much 


OCCULT  PERCEPTION  OF  THE  FUTURE      69 

reason  to  doubt  that,  in  rare  cases,  the  remote  future* 
even  is  foreseen  with  an  accuracy  of  detail  as  perfect 

*When  studying  this  subject,  several  years  ago,  the  author  used  to  hear 
a  large  number  of  predictions,  but  the  conclusion  reached  by  him  was  that  In 
no  circumstances  was  it  worth  while  to  anticipate  either  trouble  or  success  on 
the  supposition  that  the  predictions  might  be  fulfilled.  Almost  all  of  them  were 
proved  to  be  mere  fabrications  of  fraud  or  fancy.  But  now  and  then,  with  just 
sufficient  frequency  to  throw  doubt  upon  the  result's  being  due  to  mere  coinci- 
dence, such  a  prediction  would  be  fulfilled,  and  with  marvelous  accuracy.  For 
instance,  an  English  psychometrist  consulted  without  premeditation  because  of 
a  sign  seen  on  a  door — a  man  who,  as  a  psychometrist  (see  note  on  page  160), 
might,  of  course,  have  merely  perceived  distant  property  occultly,  and,  as  any 
man  might  upon  seeing  it  normally,  have  made  a  guess  with  reference  to  its 
prospective  value — described  a  house,  of  the  existence  of  which  the  author  was 
conscious  of  knowing  nothing.  The  house  was  said  to  be  a  thousand  miles  or 
so  away  from  where  they  were,  and  in  a  certain  State  where  the  author  had 
never  spent  more  than  a  week,  the  name  of  which  State  was  given.  The  house 
was  described  so  that  its  identity  and  surroundings  could  be  recognized.  It 
was  stated  that,  on  account  of  visiting  a  place  in  sight  of  this  house,  the  author 
would  obtain  a  sufficient  sum  of  money  to  become  independent.  Two  years 
later,  he  found  himself  in  the  State  indicated,  face  to  face  with  just  such  a  house, 
and,  because  of  being  there,  a  difference  of  opinion  arose  with  reference  to  prop- 
erty which  he  partly  owned.  This  difference  led  to  his  accepting  an  offer  to 
divide  the  property,  and  in  less  than  a  year,  tho  no  part  of  that  which  went  to 
others  had  increased  in  value,  his  had  increased  tenfold.  It  seems  important  to 
add,  in  order  to  show  the  method  in  which  such  prophecies — if  they  be  prophecies 
— are  usually  fulfilled,  that  the  statement  heard  two  years  before  had  mc.de  no 
impression  upon  him,  and  would  probably  have  been  forgotten  had  it  not  been 
written  down  in  a  note-book.  Nor  was  it  the  influence  of  the  prediction  that 
had  brought  about  the  result,  this  being  owing  to  wholly  unexpected  and  un- 
solicited offers  made  and  urged  upon  his  acceptance  by  others.  Such  facts 
seem  to  indicate  that,  possibly,  our  conceptions,  not  only  of  space,  but  of  time, 
are  due  to  material  limitations,  and  that  the  mind,  so  far  as  it  can  act  outside 
of  these,  can  occasionally  look  forward  as  readily  as  sideward.  At  any  rate, 
there  seems  to  be  a  sense  in  which  every  man  has  his  own  destiny  rolled  up 
within  him;  and  in  rare  instances,  as  applied  to  rare  occurrences,  it  may  be 
supernormally  unrolled.  Notice,  for  instance,  the  following,  told  by  an  excep- 
tionally trustworthy  person,  a  friend  of  the  author:  This  friend,  while  on  a  visit 
to  an  uncle  who  was  a  physician,  accompanied  this  uncle  when  calling  upon  a 
patient  suffering  from  a  nervous  disorder.  The  patient,  a  complete  stranger 
from  a  distant  city,  almost  before  being  introduced,  turned  upon  the  physician's 
companion,  who,  as  it  happened,  was  to  be  married  in  a  few  days,  and  said: 
"You  will  not  marry  the  person  to  whom  you  are  engaged.  But  do  not  regret 
it.  You  will  marry  happily  this  person's  most  intimate  friend."  The  predic- 
tion was  fulfilled  in  all  regards,  the  intended  wedding  being  first  postponed  and 
then  prevented  by  the  parents  of  the  engaged  parties,  owing  to  a  disagree- 
ment because  the  family  of  the  one  was  Protestant  and  the  family  of  the  other 
was  not. 


70          THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

as  could  be  afforded  to  an  eye-witness.  All  of  us  have 
read  of  reasonably  authenticated  prophecies  that  have 
been  made  to  men  and  women  who  have  subsequently 
had  exceptional  careers;  and  these  have  been  by  no 
means  confined  to  those  living  in  prehistoric  periods. 
Take,  for  instance,  the  prophecies  of  their  careers  said 
to  have  been  made  to  Marie  Antoinette  and  the  Empress 
Josephine,  or  by  the  Indian  Kanawa  of  George  Wash- 
ington in  his  early  life:  "He  can  not  die  in  battle.  The 
Great  Spirit  protects  that  man  and  guides  his  destinies. 
He  will  become  the  chief  of  nations,  and  a  people  yet 
unborn  will  hail  him  as  the  founder  of  a  mighty  empire.7' 
Or  take  Abraham  Lincoln's  dream  about  a  ship,  as  told 
by  him  on  the  day  on  which  he  was  assassinated,  and 
which,  as  he  then  said,  he  had  dreamed  several  times  on 
the  night  preceding  some  trying  event  in  the  history  of 
the  nation.  Another  characteristic  of  this  inner  or  occult 
mentality  needs  to  be  noticed.  It  can  not  only  trans- 
gress the  limitations  of  matter,  and  see  or  hear  things  at 
a  distance  in  space  or  in  time,  but  without  the  exercise 
of  any  power  that,  in  the  slightest  degree,  resembles 
sight  or  hearing,  it  can  cause  consciousness  to  become 
cognizant  of  the  thoughts  and  feelings,  both  conscious 
and  subconscious,  that  are  at  work  in  the  minds  of 
others.  We  have  an  example  of  this  in  ordinary  mind- 
reading,  in  which  one  person,  or  a  number  of  persons, 
will  think  of  some  action,  and  a  third  person,  not  told 
what  the  action  is,  will  perform  it.  Frequently,  how- 
ever, a  proficient  mind-reader,  instead  of  being  in- 


MIND-READING  71 

fluenced  by  the  conscious  thoughts  of  others,  is  in- 
fluenced by  their  subconscious  thoughts.  He  will 
speak  of  scenes  and  events  entirely  forgotten  by  them 
and  buried  in  memory,  but  which,  when  thus  unex- 
pectedly recalled,  are  recognized  as  being  detailed  with 
accuracy.  Undoubtedly  many  of  the  phenomena  of 
modern  spiritism  are  of.  this  nature.  The  medium, 
possibly  because  thrown  by  his  visitors  into  a  fully  or 
partially  hypnotic  condition,  recalls  facts  which  are 
stored  in  their  subconscious  memories.  This  explana- 
tion would  account  both  for  the  accuracy  of  the  de- 
liverances and  for  their  apparent  strangeness.  "I  was 
not  thinking  at  all  of  this  subject,"  says  the  visitor, 
"and  was  told  so-and-so  about  it."  Indeed,  the  writer, 
in  experimenting  once  with  an  extremely  successful 
mind-reader,  found  that  this  man  had  the  most  success 
in  reading  certain  words  written  by  another  and  kept 
concealed  when  the  one  who  wrote  them  did  not  concen- 
trate his  thought  upon  them,  but,  in  a  general  way, 
thought  of  something  else. 

Connected  with  this  ability  of  the  mind,  through  its 
subconscious  powers,  to  receive  communications  from 
outside  itself  are  some  very  interesting  developments. 
The  Rev.  William  Stanton  Moses  states  that  while  his 
hand  was  automatically  writing  his  "Psychography," 
he  spent  his  time  in  reading  Plato.  It  is  frequently 
supposed  that  such  statements  are  due  to  self-decep- 
tion or  falsehood,  and  that  all  automatic  writing  on  the 
part  of  " spiritist  mediums"  is  fraudulent.  In  some 


72         THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

cases  this  may  be  so  (see  page  101).  But  in  other  cases 
it  is  not.  The  author  is  well  acquainted  with  a  Presby- 
terian Doctor  of  Divinity,  in  exceptionally  good  stand- 
ing, who  himself,  with  other  members  of  his  family, 
practised  automatic  writing,  till  the  results  became  so 
inexplicably  accurate  as  literally  to  frighten  them  and 
they  desisted.  The  author  is  acquainted  with  another 
person  into  whose  mind  come  the  words  of  essays  con- 
cerning subjects  of  which,  sometimes,  the  person 
writing  them  knows  nothing  when  the  essays  begin. 
The  sentences  in  these  essays  are  involved,  and  their 
meanings  difficult  to  determine.  But  after  being 
written  down,  the  one  whose  hand  has  transcribed 
them  studies  them,  exactly  as  one  would  an  early  Eng- 
lish text,  and  then  translates  them  into  plain  English, 
and  publishes  them — usually  in  religious  weeklies. 
This  person  is  a  spiritist,  the  reader  may  think.  Not 
at  all;  but,  at  the  time  when  these  things  were  told, 
had  never  attended  a  spiritist  seance,  and  was  strongly 
opposed  to  any  one's  doing  it.  Then  an  untrust- 
worthy enthusiast,  the  reader  may  think.  Not  at  all, 
again;  but  was  the  president  of  a  society  with  ramifi- 
cations all  over  the  country,  among  the  officers  and 
members  of  which  were  clergymen  and  others  whose 
names  were  household  words  in  exceptionally  conserva- 
tive Christian  denominations. 

^  Indeed,  any  of  us  who  may  succeed  in  gaining  the 
confidence  of  those  about  us  will  be  amazed  to  find  how 
many  have  had  individual  experiences  of  such  a  nature 


APPARITIONS  73 

as  to  confirm  the  general  trustworthiness  of  all  the 
statements  that  have  been  made  here  with  reference 
to  the  occult  action  of  the  mind.  "You  knew  my 
son,"  said  Bishop  Whipple,  of  Minnesota,  to  Dr.  J.  S. 
Shipman,  rector  of  Christ's  Church,  New  York,  who 
repeated  the  words  to  the  author,  "the  night  that  he 
died,  a  thousand  miles  away  from  home,  he  came  back, 
and  we  saw  him."  After  making  every  allowance  pos- 
sible for  mistakes  in  judgment,  for  mere  hallucinations, 
and  for  coincidences,  there  remains  a  mass  of  evidence 
by  rejecting  which  a  man  shows  more  credulity  with  ref- 
erence to  material  limitations  than  he  could  show  with 
reference  to  immaterial  possibilities  by  accepting.* 

The  supposed  apparition  mentioned  in  the  preceding 
paragraph  suggests  what,  for  our  purposes,  is  perhaps 
as  important  as  any  consideration  connected  with  this 
subject.  A  few  years  ago,  it  was  quite  common  in  our 
country  to  hear  clergymen  and  others  ascribe  that 
belief  fundamental  to  all  religions — the  belief  in  the 
existence  of  the  soul  after  death — to  the  revelations 
recorded  in  the  Christian  Scriptures.  One  can  not 
easily  account  for  such  a  misunderstanding  or  mis- 
representation of  facts.  Every  observant  traveler  or 

*An  exhaustive  enumeration  and  description  of  treatises  dealing  with  the 
occult  will  be  found  in  the  Bibliographical  Index  of  "Demon  Possessions  and 
Allied  Themes,"  written  by  J.  L.  Nevius,  D.D.,  for  forty  years  a  Presbyterian 
missionary  to  the  Chinese,  and  published  by  the  Fleming  H.  Revell  Company,  of 
Chicago,  1894.  Few  are  aware  how  thoroughly  and  scientifically  this  whole 
subject  has  been  studied,  or  how  extensive  and  valuable  is  the  literature  that 
treats  of  it.  Dr.  Nevius,  it  may  be  said,  acknowledges  communications  from 
spirits;  but,  apparently,  from  evil  spirits  only,  dividing  into  good  and  evil  those 
whom  the  modern  spiritist  would  divide  into  the  more  or  less  "developed." 


74         THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

historian  knows  that  this  belief  is  practically  universal, 
as  proved  not  only  by  that  which  is  usually  taught,  but 
by  such  practises  as  the  placing  with  the  dead  of  their 
weapons  and  clothing,  as  among  the  aboriginal  Ameri- 
cans, Australians,  and  Africans;  or  the  worshiping  of 
the  dead;  and,  at  stated  seasons,  scores  of  years  after 
their  burial,  the  spreading  of  tables  before  their  graves, 
as  among  the  Japanese  and  Chinese;  as  well  as  by 
what  is  indicated  upon  the  monuments,  or  is  taken  for 
granted  in  the  literature  of  ancient  Assyria,  Egypt, 
Greece,  and  Rome.  Indeed,  it  is  simply  a  fact  that 
among  the  people  of  Asia  to-day  there  are  more  cus- 
toms and  ceremonies  suggesting  a  belief  in  a  life  after 
death  than  there  are  among  the  Christians  of  Europe 
and  America;  and  there  are  more  references  to  such  a 
life  in  the  literature  of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome  than 
in  that  of  Judea.  Every  schoolboy  who  has  studied 
classic  mythology  can  recall  descriptions  of  Elyseum 
and  Hades  in  the  writings  of  the  former  peoples;  but 
our  most  learned  commentators  have  failed  to  find 
more  than  a  very  few  references  to  any  such  belief 
throughout  the  entire  Old  Testament.  Nor  among 
non-Christian  people  is  there  any  failure  to  believe  in 
future  states  of  rewards  and  punishments.  These  also 
are  described,  or  taken  for  granted,  by  the  classic 
writers,  and  are  just  as  thoroughly  taught  by  the  Budd- 
hists and  other  religionists  of  the  Orient  as  by  our- 
selves. 
Now,  how  did  such  beliefs  originate?  The  theory 


BELIEF  IN  ANOTHER  LIFE  75 

held  in  our  country  a  few  years  ago  attributed  them, 
except  among  the  Hebrews,  to  the  imagination.  It 
was  said  that  they  were  gradually  developed  in  human 
experience,  at  times  when  it  was  affected  by  such  re- 
sults as  the  rustling  of  trees  in  dark  woods,  or  the 
dashing  of  waves  on  lonely  shores — results  arousing 
the  mind  to  superstition,  while  they  worked  upon  the 
sources  of  apprehension  and  conscience.  Even  more 
specific  beliefs  with  reference  to  the  personality  of  the 
gods,  and  their  relations  to  men,  were  supposed  to  be 
derived  through  natural  methods  of  development — 
some  of  them,  for  instance,  through  the  same  methods 
as  those  causing  the  formation  of  language.  Take, 
for  example,  such  an  argument  as  this:  When  men 
had  no  word  for  the  sun,  they  would  naturally  call  it 
the  father  of  the  day,  or — for  a  similar  reason — call  the 
earth  a  mother;  and  owing  to  this  usage  of  words  they 
would,  after  a  time,  come  to  associate  real  fatherhood 
with  the  one,  or  motherhood  with  the  other,  and  finally 
to  imagine  each  to  have  a  personality,  and  thus  to 
worship  the  sun  or  the  earth  as  a  god.  Max  Muller, 
in  the  fourth  of  his  lectures  on  "The  Science  of  Re- 
ligion/' gives  a  modification  of  this  view,  tho  still  at- 
tributing the  origin  of  religion  to  imagination.  He 
says  that  when  the  primitive  man,  feeling  his  incom- 
pleteness and  need  of  dependence,  and  wanting  some- 
thing like  a  father  in  heaven,  chose  the  name  sky  to 
express  his  conception  of  it,  he  "did  not  mean  .  .  . 
that  the  visible  sky  was  all  he  wanted.  .  .  .  But  when 


76         THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

that  name  had  to  be  used  with  the  young  and  the  aged, 
with  silly  children  and  doting  grandmothers,  it  was 
impossible  to  preserve  it  from  being  misunderstood. 
The  first  step  downward  would  be  to  look  upon  the 
sky  as  the  abode  of  that  being  which  was  called  by 
the  same  name.  .  .  .  Lastly,  many  things  that  were 
true  of  the  visible  sky  would  be  told  of  its  divine  name- 
sake, and  legends  would  spring  up  destroying  every 
trace  of  the  deity  that  once  was  hidden  beneath  that 
ambiguous  name." 

There  is  undoubtedly  much  truth  in  what  is  thus 
exprest,  so  far  as  it  may  be  supposed  to  apply  to  the 
development  of  religious  conceptions.  But  it  does  not 
explain  the  origin  of  the  germ  from  which  these  con- 
ceptions were  developed.  Such  statements  fail  to 
penetrate  to  the  source,  they  fail  to  go  to  the  bottom 
of  the  subject.  They  fail  to  show  us  why  winds,  waves, 
or  skies,  in  combination  with  darkness,  loneliness,  or 
weakness,  should  cause  a  man  to  associate  noise,  force, 
or  height  with  the  influence  of  spirits;  or  to  show  us 
why  particular  uses  of  language  or  applications  of  it 
to  things  on  earth  or  in  heaven  should  suggest  this  in- 
fluence. We  attribute  certain  noises  in  our  houses  to 
the  shutting  of  a  door,  to  the  draft  of  a  furnace,  or  to 
the  gnawing  of  mice.  But  why  do  we  do  this?  Be- 
cause we  have  had  experience,  or  others  have  had  ex- 
perience of  which  they  have  told  us,  of  similar  noises 
that  could  be  traced  to  these  sources.  This  is  that 
which  occasions  and  justifies  our  inferences.  Just  so, 


BELIEF  IN  ANOTHER  LIFE  77 

experiences  of  his  own  or  of  others  like  the  one  related 
on  page  73  would  justify  superstitious  inferences  on 
the  part  of  the  primitive  man.  But  nothing  else 
would.  If  the  man  had  never  had  such  experiences, 
or  heard  of  them,  he  might  attribute  certain  sounds  to 
birds  or  to  animals,  but  he  would  not  think  of  attribu- 
ting them  to  spirits.  Take  into  a  forest  one  who  has 
never  been  told  that  there  are  ghosts,  and  you  will 
have  a  hard  time  convincing  him  that  any  of  the  noises 
about  him  are  produced  by  a  being  impossible  to  see. 
Only,  therefore,  as  we  consider  the  possibility  of  the 
mind's  being  actually  influenced  at  certain  times  from 
the  hidden  or  occult  in  nature  do  we  seem  to  have  a 
thoroughly  satisfactory  reason  for  the  prevalence  of 
superstitious  beliefs. 

That  this  is  the  true  reason  appears  probable,  more- 
over, in  view  of  the  fact  that  any  consciousness  what- 
ever of  being  influenced  through  subconscious  mentality 
is  more  likely  to  be  experienced  by  a  primitive,  unedu- 
cated man  than  by  an  educated  one.  Education  gives 
one  control  over  his  mental  resources.  It  causes  him 
to  understand  himself,  as  we  say,  or  to  be  conscious  of 
himself.  This  control,  once  established  as  a  habit, 
inclines  him  to  hold  in  check  the  promptings  of  the 
subconscious,  so  that  its  effects  shall  manifest  them- 
selves either  not  at  all,  or  only  indirectly,  by  coalescing 
with  those  of  which  he  is  conscious.  When  this  is  the 
condition,  the  suggestions  and  imaginings  due  to  sub- 
conscious intellection  can  not  easily  be  distinguished 


78          THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

from  the  results  of  conscious  intellection.  The  edu- 
cated man,  looking  at  his  subconscious  nature,  as  he 
does,  through  a  glass  darkly,  always  seems  to  see  the 
texture  of  the  material  veil  hanging  in  front  of  it.  With 
the  uneducated  man,  however,  it  is  different.  Influ- 
ences exerted  through  the  subconscious  often  appeal 
to  him  directly.  Indeed,  there  are  reasons  for  believing 
that  when  we  go  lower  than  the  uneducated  man  we 
find  these  influences  appealing  even  to  the  animal. 
There  are  reasons  for  believing  that  they  are  allied  to 
all  manifestations  of  intelligence  which,  in  the  absence 
of  a  predominating  mental  control,  such  as  has  just 
been  said  to  characterize  the  educated  man,  we  at- 
tribute to  instinct. 

Mr.  Henry  R.  Marshall,  in  his  " Instinct  and  Reason," 
defines  instinct,  which,  in  another  place,  he  shows  to  be 
largely  hereditary,  as  "the  force  within  us  which  tends 
to  make  us  act  under  certain  conditions  as  all  others 
who  are  of  the  same  type — which  leads  us  to  under- 
take typical  reactions."  Instinct,  for  instance,  makes 
us,  without  conscious  thought,  ward  off  with  our  hand 
a  stone  that  seems  moving  toward  our  head.  Reason, 
he  defines  as  "the  force  which  tends  to  make  us  vary 
from  such  typical  reactions/'  as,  for  instance,  not  to 
ward  off  the  stone  when  we  have  learned  that  it  is  fast- 
ened to  a  string  and  can  not  reach  our  head.  From 
this  conception  it  seems  logical  to  associate  the  action 
of  instinct  with  any  mental  manifestation  which  is  not 
the  result  of  reason.  But  the  range  of  mental  action 


INSTINCT  AND  REASON  79 

which  is  not  the  result  of  conscious  reason  is  exceed- 
ingly large.  There  is  occult  or  subconscious  mental 
action,  which  seems  to  correspond  both  to  that  which 
is  due  to  instinct,  as  in  the  case  of  conscience,  and  also 
to  that  which  is  due  to  a  certain  amount  of  reasoning, 
as  in  cases  of  lightning  calculators  and  automatic 
writers.  At  the  same  time  all  that  we  can  not  con- 
sciously attribute  to  reason,  whether  it  be  due  to 
instinct  because  hereditary,  or  to  automatic  physical 
or  mental  action  because  acquired  by  practise,  or  to 
subconscious  reason  acting  behind  all  instinctive  move- 
ments, as  some  suppose  it  to  act  behind  the  movements 
of  the  lower  animals — all  this  we  may  call,  because, 
as  distinguished  from  rational,  it  seems  to  be  such, 
instinctive — a  word  which  differs  from  instinct  in  being 
an  adjective  signifying  an  effect  which  has  the  quality 
or  appearance  of  that  which  results  from  instinct. 

In  the  volume  written  by  the  author  entitled,  "The 
Representative  Significance  of  Form,"  it  was  main- 
tained that  to  the  predominance  of  the  instinctive,  by 
which  is  meant  spontaneous  and  unpremeditated  men- 
tal action,  like  that  of  conscience  or  of  aspiration — 
we  are  mainly  indebted  for  our  conceptions  of  those 
laws  of  being  and  becoming  which  give  expression  to  the 
methods  of  the  Creative  Spirit,  and  which  constitute 
what  men  term  religious  truth;  that  to  the  predom- 
inance of  the  reasoning  or  conscious  action  of  the  mind 
we  are  mainly  indebted  for  scientific  truth;  while  to 
the  very  nearly  harmonious  or  equal  blending  of  both 


80          THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

instinctive  and  reasoning,  of  both  subconscious  and 
conscious,  mental  action  we  are  mainly  indebted  for 
artistic  truth. 

But  why  should  this  be?  Especially  why  should  the 
instinctive  tendency  be  allied  to  religion? — Why  but 
because  it  is  this  which  rules  in  external  nature,  and 
therefore  represents  the  Creative  disposition  and  de- 
sign? Is  it  necessary  to  suppose  that  this  concep- 
tion, which  is  exprest  by  many  of  the  wisest  and 
best,  is  merely  a  fabrication  of  fancy,  having  no  founda- 
tion in  fact?  Does  Wordsworth  mean  nothing  when 
he  says? — 

I  have  felt 

A  presence  that  disturbs  me  with  the  joy 
Of  elevated  thoughts  ;  a  sense  sublime 
Of  something  far  more  deeply  interfused, 
Whose  dwelling  is  the  light  of  setting  suns, 
And  the  round  ocean,  and  the  living  air, 
And  the  blue  sky,  and  in  the  mind  of  man  : 
A  motion  and  a  spirit,  that  impels 
All  thinking  things,  all  objects  of  all  thought, 
And  rolls  through  all  things. 

Lines  Composed  a  few  Miles  above  Tintern  Abbey. 

Or  Matthew  Arnold,  when  he  makes  a  more  definite 
reference  to  the  same  thought? — 

" Ah,  once  more,"  I  cried,  "ye  stars,  ye  waters, 

On  my  heart  your  mighty  charm  renew ; 
Still,  still  let  me,  as  I  gaze  upon  you, 
Feel  my  soul  becoming  vast  like  you." 

From  the  intense,  clear,  star-sown  vault  of  heaven, 

Over  the  lit  sea's  unquiet  way, 
In  the  rustling  night-air,  came  the  answer  : 
"  Wouldst  thou  be  as  these  are  ?    Live  as  they." 

Self-Dependence. 


THE  SUBCONSCIOUS  IN  ANIMALS  81 

Why  should  not  that  which  rules  in  inanimate  na- 
ture rule  also  in  animate  nature?  And  tho  we  know 
that  it  does  not  rule  in  a  man,  except  so  far  as  he 
consciously  allows  it  to  rule,  why  should  we  suppose 
that  this  conscious  action  is,  in  anything  like  the  same 
degree,  necessary  on  the  part  of  the  animal.  None 
of  us  ordinarily  conceive  of  an  animal  as  sinning.  Why 
is  this — even  among  those  foremost  to  conceive  of  a 
man  as  sinning?  Why,  but  because  we  do  not  con- 
ceive of  an  animal  as  consciously  violating  the  laws  of 
his  being — as  consciously  doing  otherwise  than  ac- 
cording to  the  promptings  of  his  instinctive  or  sub- 
conscious nature?*  But  we  all  know  that  a  man  can 
do,  and  often  does  do,  exactly  the  opposite  of  that 
indicated  by  such  promptings.  He  does  this  because 
of  his  higher  human  possibilities,  because  of  the  pre- 
ponderating and  often  counteracting  influence  that  can 
be  exerted  by  his  conscious  and  reflective  powers  as 
influenced  by  his  physical  surroundings. 

Shades  of  the  prison-house  begin  to  close 

Upon  the  growing  Boy, 
But  He  beholds  the  light,  and  whence  it  flows, 

He  sees  it  in  his  joy  ; 

The  Youth,  who  daily  farther  from,  the  east 
Must  travel,  still  is  Nature's  Priest, 

And  by  the  vision  splendid 

Is  on  his  way  attended  ; 
At  length  the  Man  perceives  it  die  away, 
And  fade  into  the  light  of  common  day. 

Ode  on  Intimations  of  Immortality:  Wordsworth. 

*Possibly  it  is  to  the  subtle  recognition  of  this  fact  that  we  can  attribute 
the  worship  of  animals,  or  the  sacredness  with  which  they  are,  or  have  been, 
regarded  among  different  people. 


82          THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

It  is  sometimes  represented  that  the  story  of  the 
fall  in  the  third  chapter  of  Genesis  can  not  be  made 
to  accord  with  the  theory  of  development — much  less 
with  that  of  evolution.  But  it  might  be  argued  with 
some  truth  that  it  is  exactly  the  kind  of  story  that  can 
be  made  to  accord  with  this  theory.  What  but  a 
mental  condition  very  close  to  that  of  an  animal  could 
be  characterized  by  a  lack  of  "  knowledge  of  good  and 
evil,"  or  a  lack  of  experience  of  temptation  coming 
from  without — from  the  lower  physical  side  of  life  as 
represented  in  the  serpent — and  conflicting  with  the 
promptings  coming  from  within?  Only  an  animal  can 
be  true  to  every  condition  of  his  being,  and  obey  these 
latter  promptings  only,  and  these  unconsciously.  A 
man,  to  be  true  to  every  condition  of  his  being,  must 
obey  them  indeed,  but  consciously  and  calculatingly, 
and  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  them  conform  to  the 
good  as  contrasted  with  the  evil  of  which  the  play  of 
cause  and  effect  in  the  outward  material  world  has 
taught  him.  Very  important  reasons  for  holding  this 
conception  of  that  which  a  man  should  do  will  be 
given  hereafter.  At  present  our  business  is  to  make 
sure  of  the  facts  on  which  the  conception  is  based. 

It  has  been  said  that  there  are  grounds  for  supposing 
that  the  animals  are  influenced  through  methods  cor- 
responding to  those  according  to  which  men  are  in- 
fluenced through  the  subconscious  or  inner  sphere  of 
the  mind.  That  this  is  so  may  be  made  to  appear 
while  we  notice  how  the  animals  may  be  supposed  to 


THE  SUBCONSCIOUS  IN  ANIMALS  83 

communicate  with  one  another.  Of  course  they  are 
obliged  to  communicate  without  formulating  thought 
in  words  or  gestures,  because  they  have  neither  articu- 
lating organs  nor  hands.  But,  tho  incapable  of  formu- 
lating thought,  are  they  incapable  of  having  it?  If 
so,  why  does  a  dog  wag  his  tail  and  ears  and  growl  in 
his  sleep?  Is  he  not  dreaming?  But  if  he  can  dream, 
he  must  be  capable  of  processes  of  thought.  Yet  how 
can  he  have  processes  of  thought,  without  using  words 
or  gestures?  How  but  precisely  as  a  man  can — by 
seeing  in  imagination  series  of  pictures?  A  man  when 
hungry  thinks  not  only  of  the  word  hungry,  but  he  has 
a  vision  of  something  that  can  be  eaten.  If  he  wish 
to  tell  another  what  his  feeling  is,  he  may  use  the  word 
hungry;  and  this  other  also,  if  understanding  the  word, 
will  have  a  somewhat  similar  vision.  But  notice  that 
the  essential,  indispensable  factor  is  not  the  word,  but 
the  vision  that  is  caused  in  the  listener's  mind.  The 
word  is  convenient,  and,  if  a  feeling  be  at  all  complex, 
it  is  extremely  important,  in  order  to  convey  distinct- 
ness and  discrimination  of  meaning.  But  the  essential 
thing  is  to  cause  the  vision.  Now  a  dog  certainly 
remembers  what  he  has  seen.  If  so,  he  can  probably 
recall  it,  but  to  recall  it,  he  must  have  a  vision  of  it. 
If  he  himself  have  a  vision  of  it,  ability  to  transmit 
conceptions  in  an  occult  way  may  enable  him  to  con- 
vey a  similar  vision  to  another  dog's  brain.  Is  it  pos- 
sible that  this  is  the  way  in  which  animals  communicate? 
Why  is  it  not?  Any  one  who  will  have  the  patience 


84          THE  PS YCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

to  watch  them  will  notice  that  they  often  communi- 
cate without  making  a  single  sound  or  movement. 
Who  has  never  seen  two  dogs  or  birds,  at  some  dis- 
tance from  each  other,  start  at  exactly  the  same 
moment  for  the  same  place?  Moreover,  there  is  evi- 
dence that  they  are  often  influenced  by  men  in  this 
occult  way.  How  is  it  that  a  snake  is  charmed,  or  a 
horse  broken — or  guided,  for  that  matter?  The  next 
time  that  the  reader  is  riding  a  horse,  and  comes  to  four 
corners,  let  him  try  to  turn  him  in  the  direction  chosen 
without  using  the  reins — i.e.,  by  merely  thinking.  This 
can  sometimes  be  done.  A  dog  belonging  to  an  ac- 
quaintance of  the  author  was  in  the  habit  of  bounding 
up  into  a  bedroom  every  morning,  and  drinking  water 
poured  out  from  a  pail  that  had  been  standing  there 
overnight.  One  day,  there  was  a  discussion  in  this 
dog's  presence  with  reference  to  the  unhealthiness  of 
drinking-water  that  had  been  uncovered  for  as  many 
hours  as  this.  From  that  time,  no  effort  could  get  him 
to  continue  his  former  morning  practise.  It  is  hardly 
conceivable  that  he  should  have  understood  the  subtle 
distinctions  of  words,  and  the  bearings  of  the  discussion, 
as  men  would  have  done.  But  it  is  conceivable  that  he 
should  have  been  influenced  by  the  concentration  of 
the  thoughts  of  the  family,  with  or  without  the  indi- 
cation of  the  fact  in  their  countenances,*  upon  this 

*Animals  are,  undoubtedly,  keen  readers  of  the  countenance;  yet,  in  order 
to  explain  all  cases,  it  seems  necessary,  in  connection  with  this,  to  suppose  them 
to  be  tamed,  trained,  and  casually  influenced  according  to  methods  more  or  less 
resembling  those  employed  in  hypnotism. 


THE  SUBCONSCIOUS  IN  THE  IGNORANT     85 

particular  water  as  something  that  one  should  not  drink. 
Nor,  apparently,  can  an  animal  be  influenced  by 
the  thought  of  one  who  is  merely  near  at  hand.  Dr. 
C.  N.  Pierce,  of  Philadelphia,  once  told  the  author  of  a 
dog  whose  master  frequently  goes  to  Europe.  But 
the  moment  the  steamer  bearing  the  master  home 
reaches  New  York,  his  family,  living  sixty  miles  away, 
are  made  acquainted  with  the  fact  by  the  movements 
of  this  dog.  The  intellection  in  this  case  seems  to  be 
exactly  similar  to  that  of  an  old  negress  once  known 
by  the  author.  She  would  now  and  then  announce 
by  name  to  her  mistress  the  coming  arrival  of  a  guest, 
who  would  reach  the  house  from  one  to  five  hours  later. 
This  faculty  of  the  negress,  which  could  be  paralleled 
by  many  other  illustrations  of  the  mind's  being  in- 
fluenced from  the  occult  side,  perhaps  even  by  that 
instinct  which  keeps  the  Indian  from  being  lost  amid 
dense,  untrodden  forests,  manifests  itself  among  mem- 
bers of  the  colored  race  in  other  ways.  It  is  well  known 
by  Southern  clergymen  that,  almost  invariably,  in 
describing  their  conversions,  these  people  tell  of  per- 
ceiving figures  and  scenes  which  they  take  to  be  super- 
natural; and  in  such  language  that  it  seems  scarcely 
possible  to  suppose  the  effects  to  be  merely  such  as 
white  men  attribute  to  the  imagination.  Similar 
visions,  too,  if  not  common  in  this  day  among  the 
Indians,  were,  at  one  time,  supposed  by  some  tribes  to 
be  necessary  to  the  formation  of  character.  In  north- 
ern Michigan,  the  young  men,  before  being  permitted 


86          THE  PSYCHO L OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

the  full  prerogatives  of  manhood,  were  sent  into  the 
woods,  and  made  to  rest  in  hammocks  swung  among 
the  trees,  and  to  fast — the  identical  method  pur- 
sued by  Swedenborg — until  they  had  had  more  or  less 
of  what  in  our  day  would  be  termed  psychic  experience. 
Of  course,  it  is  possible  that  every  experience  of  this 
sort  may  be  a  mere  hallucination,  in  the  sense  in  which 
people  generally,  and  not  philosophers,  use  this  term— 
i.e.,  a  result  of  imagination  wrought  upon  by  an  ab- 
normal, if  not  a  diseased,  condition  of  the  physical 
nerves.  But  what  of  that?  It  does  not  lessen  the 
force  of  the  argument  begun  on  page  74,  which  argu- 
ment this  explanation  of  the  connection  between  the 
instinctive  and  the  religious  has  been  introduced  in 
order  to  render  more  intelligible.  The  argument  is 
that  such  experiences  come  to  certain  persons  now, 
and  have  come  to  others  in  the  past;  and  that  they 
are  now,  and  have  been,  attributed  to  causes  that  are 
not  material,  normal,  or  natural,  but  supposedly  the 
opposite — spiritual,  supernormal,  or  supernatural;  and 
that  this  fact,  especially  in  view  of  the  far  greater 
number  of  psychic  experiences  among  the  primitive, 
uneducated  people  who  may  be  supposed  to  be  nearest 
to  the  animal  in  their  nature  sufficiently  accounts  for 
the  origin  of  primitive  beliefs  in  the  supernatural,  or 
— what  is  the  same  thing — for  primitive  religion. 

Primitive  religious  customs,  too,  strengthen  this  gen- 
eral argument.  Among  the  aborigines  of  America, 
Africa,  and  Australia,  who,  in  historic  times  at  least, 


TRANCE  CONDITIONS  87 

have  had  no  chance  to  imitate  one  another,  there  are 
two  distinct  forms  in  which  spiritual  communications 
are  supposed  to  be  imparted  through  the  seer,  or  medi- 
cine-man, whatever  he  may  be  called.  According  to 
one  form,  this  man  goes  into  a  dark  place — sometimes 
a  hut  entirely  shut  in  by  poles — and  those  who  consult 
him  are  said  to  hear  utterances,  and,  less  frequently, 
to  see  living  figures  emerging  which  are  different  from 
his  own.  According  to  the  other  form,  while  visible 
to  all,  he  seems  to  be  taken  possession  of  by  some  in- 
fluence that  often  makes  him  numb  to  physical  sensa- 
tion, and  that  always  makes  him  talk  or  act  in  a  man- 
ner apparently  foreign  to  his  own  character.*  The 

*It  is  well  known  that,  in  our  own  time  and  country,  there  are  conditions 
resembling  this,  into  which  certain  persons  fall,  owing  to  their  temperament  or 
state  of  health,  or  to  some  hypnotic  influence,  as  we  may  term  it,  consciously 
or  unconsciously  exerted  upon  them  by  others.  In  these  conditions  the  body, 
while  apparently  put  to  sleep,  seems  to  be  made  the  direct  instrument  of  the 
subconscious — either  of  the  subject  himself,  according  to  the  hypnotic  theory, 
or  of  one  obsessing  it,  if  we  accept  the  trance-theory.  The  result  is  that,  while 
in  this  condition,  these  persons  sometimes  manifest  a  degree  of  mental  culture 
and  force  of  which  in  their  conscious  moods  they  give  no  indications. 

A  telegram  from  San  Francisco,  published  in  most  of  the  newspapers  of 
January  21,  1897,  contained  the  following:  "A  shock-headed  boy  of  fifteen, 
whose  school  days  have  been  limited  to  three  short  years,  and  whose  life  has 
been  passed  chiefly  in  a  little  country  town  in  Washington,  delivered  a  lecture 
here  last  night  upon  the  '  Different  Religious  Systems  of  the  World,  Now  and  in 
the  Past.'  Charles  Anderson  is  the  boy's  name.  He  was  born  in  Cowlitz 
County,  in  1882,  and  lived  there  until  two  months  ago.  When  lecturing,  the 
boy's  language  and  manners  seemed  to  belong  to  some  gray-haired  old  patriarch, 
and  many  of  his  hearers  pronounced  the  discourse  a  deep  and  learned  disserta- 
tion. And  yet  his  conversation  reveals  a  woful  lack  of  education  and  he  can 
scarcely  read.  Charles  says  he  has  been  able  to  produce  his  condition  at  will, 
and  tho  unable  to  foretell  his  subject,  he  is  able  to  remember  a  little  of  his  dis- 
course after  the  trance,  but  not  enough  to  render  him  any  more  intelligent  in 
his  e very-day  life." 

The  author  himself  has  heard  from  the  lips  of  a  woman,  apparently  in- 
capable even  of  understanding  the  subject  discust,  what  was  virtually — tho 
never  purporting  to  be  it,  nor  recognized  to  be  it,  so  far  as  he  knows,  by  any 
one  but  himself — the  whole  system  of  ancient  Gnosticism,  together  with  the 


88          THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

Assyrians,  Egyptians,  Greeks,  and  Romans  seem  to 
have  given  a  ceremonial  development  to  these  primi- 
tive methods  of  receiving  supposed  spiritual  com- 
munications. Most  of  the  Egyptian  temples  contained 
rooms  absolutely  dark;  and  one  of  the  Assyrian  seances 
is  probably  described  with  accuracy  in  the  account  in 
the  twenty-eighth  chapter  of  1  Samuel  of  the  appear- 
ance to  Samuel  for  Saul  in  the  cave  of  the  Witch  of 
Endor.  Many  references  are  made  by  the  classic 
writers  to  the  mysteries,  especially  the  Eleusinian,  as 
solving  questions  with  reference  to  the  future.  Were 

main  propositions  of  the  Platonic  germ  which  this  seems  to  have  developed — 
all  presented  with  a  wealth  of  illustration,  information,  and  eloquence  which  he 
does  not  hesitate  to  say  that  he  has  never  heard  equaled  by  any  unpremedi- 
tated effort  on  the  part  of  any  mind  working  normally.  That  the  whole  dis- 
cussion was  foreign  to  the  woman's  natural  ability,  range  of  thought,  and,  ap- 
parently, belief,  was  proved  by  conversations  with  her  when  in  her  normal 
moods;  and  that  what  was  said  in  the  abnormal  moods  was  unpremeditated  was 
proved  by  frequent  questions  that  guided  the  course  of  her  presentation,  in 
which  never,  on  different  occasions,  was  the  same  phraseology  or  method  of  il- 
lustration exactly  repeated.  However,  what  was  said  in  this  way — tho  it  was 
all  upon  an  elevated  plane — was  not  taken  by  the  author  for  indisputable  truth. 
Why  not?  Partly  because  it  was  impossible  for  any  one  to  determine  its  source. 
It  might  have  come  from  an  hypnotic  reading  of  that  which  was  stored  uncon- 
sciously in  the  mind  of  the  investigator,  tho  this  seemed  improbable,  inasmuch 
as  analogous  deliverances  of  the  same  general  tenor  were  made  in  his  absence, 
Jt  might  have  come  from  that  which  was  stored  in  the  subconsciousness  of  the 
woman  herself,  tho  this,  too,  seemed  improbable,  inasmuch  as  she  would  scarcely 
have  been  interested  sufficiently  in  such  lines  of  thought  even  to  have  read  of 
them.  It  might  have  come  from  that  which  had  been  stored  in  the  conscious 
or  subconscious  mentality  of  some  of  her  ancestors,  or  of  some  living  person  at 
a  distance,  or  even  been  subconsciously  read  from  some  book.  Or  it  might 
have  come,  as  the  woman  herself  supposed,  from  some  spirit;  yet,  even  so,  this 
spirit  might  have  been — to  say  the  least — insufficiently  informed  to  warrant 
confidence  in  the  truth  of  the  things  uttered.  Only  two  satisfactory  conclusions 
could  be  drawn  from  the  circumstances.  First,  the  same  as  that  which  will  be 
argued  on  pages  162  to  168,  namely,  that  whatever  may  be  uttered  in  this  super- 
normal way  must  be  judged  precisely  as  it  would  be  if  uttered  in  a  normal  way 
— that  is,  by  its  conformity  to  previous  information,  and  to  the  results  of  in- 
tuitive insight  and  logical  inference.  The  other  conclusion  reached  was  this: 
that  here,  presented  to  eyes  and  ears,  in  the  nineteenth  century,  was  something 
that  legitimately  suggested  the  origin  not  only  of  Platonism  and  Gnosticism, 


SACRED   WRITINGS  89 

they  a  continuation  of  the  dark  stances  of  the  African 
woods  and  the  Egyptian  temples? — or  were  they  a  ritu- 
alistic or  representative  recalling  of  these?  As  for  the 
actions  in  the  open  daylight  of  those  supposed  to  be 
possest  by  a  spirit,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  point  out 
that  these  must  have  been  very  similar  to  the  actions 
of  the  Indian  fakirs,  and  of  the  Mohammedan  dervishes, 
while  all  of  the  methods  indicated  are  apparently  re- 
peated in  modern  spiritism. 

Now,  let  us  notice  another  important  fact.  It  is 
this:  in  the  degree  in  which,  among  any  adherents  of 
a  religion  of  this  kind  the  intellect  becomes  developed, 

but  of  much  of  that  imaginatively  weird  cosmogony  which  has  ordinarily  been 
attributed  to  merely  the  Oriental  imagination,  and  even,  too,  the  origin  of 
Polytheism  as  developed  among  such  civilized  people  as  the  ancient  Egyptians 
Greeks,  and  Romans.  These  ancient  people  had  minds  as  intellectual  and 
logical  as  our  own;  and  one  may  be  sure  that  they  had  some  good  reasons  for 
their  beliefs.  (See  Pliny's  rational  discussion  of  specters  in  his  letter  to  Sura, 
B.  7;  27.)  Almost  all  commentators  agree  that  the  words  of  Paul  in  Col.  2 ; 
18,  "Let  no  man  beguile  you  of  your  reward  in  a  voluntary  humility  and  wor- 
shipping of  angels,  intruding  into  those  things  which  he  hath  not  seen,"  refer  to 
Gnosticism,  and  to  angel-worship  in  it.  Why,  therefore,  has  not  one  come  upon 
the  original  thing  who — in  connection  with  psychical  phenomena  and  physical 
transformations  which,  if  related,  would  not  be  credited  by  any  one  who  had 
not  seen  something  similar — has  heard  this  system  taught  at  regular  intervals 
to  people,  some  of  them  of  decided  intelligence,  who  believed  themselves  to  be 
in  the  presence  of  a  very  superior  spirit?  Even  supposing  these  people  to  have 
been  completely  deluded,  why  could  not  others,  in  similar  circumstances,  have 
been  similarly  deluded  in  ancient  times?  And  if  so,  notice  the  inference  not 
only  with  reference  to  Gnosticism  but  to  Polytheism:  how  long  would  it  have 
been  before  this  superior  spirit  would  have  had  followers;  and  after  the  "me- 
dium" through  whom  the  utterances  were  received  had  passed  away,  how  long 
would  it  have  been  before  these  followers  would  have  conveyed  to  others,  with 
all  the  suggestions  with  which  imagination  would  naturally  augment  the  original 
facts,  a  traditional  belief  in  this  spirit  that  had  once  talked  to  them?  And 
what  would  a  belief  in  this  superior  spirit  and  its  teachings  be  but  a  belief  in 
what  the  Greeks  meant  by  the  term  god — not  the  Supreme  Being,  but  a  superior 
being,  the  existence  of  whom  might  or  might  not  (from  some  of  the  literature  of 
the  Greeks  we  may  judge  that  it  did  not)  interfere  with  their  acknowledging  One 
supreme  being?  Does  not  this  line  of  thought  present  a  far  more  natural  and  justi- 
fiable theory  through  which  to  account  for  Polytheism  than  is  usually  advocated? 


90          THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  1NSPIRA TION 

they  come  to  pay  less  heed  to  mere  physical  phe- 
nomena— i.e.,  to  abnormal  sights  and  sounds,  con- 
tortions of  the  body,  mysterious  rappings,  or  workings 
of  "  wonders  "—than  to  verbal  communications,  some- 
times accompanying  and  sometimes  not  accompanying 
these,  which  communications,  because  verbal,  appeal 
more  exclusively  to  the  intellect.  Is  not  this  exactly 
what  we  should  expect?  A  man,  according  to  the 
degree  of  his  mental  development,  demands  particulars. 
He  is  not  satisfied  with  such  general  conceptions  con- 
cerning the  existence  of  life  beyond  the  visible  as  alone 
can  be  suggested  through  physical  phenomena.  He 
craves  to  hear  everything  described  in  words.  He  de- 
sires to  understand,  and,  for  this  reason,  to  have  a 
religion  that  will  appeal  with  the  authority  not  only 
of  subconscious  but  of  conscious  mentality — in  fact, 
with  the  authority  of  the  whole  rational  being.  Ac- 
cordingly, in  Greece  and  Rome  we  find  religious  truth 
attributed  mainly  to  the  utterances  of  oracles  and 
Sibyls;  and  in  India  and  Eastern  Asia,  as  well  as  among 
the  Hebrews,  Mohammedans,  and  Christians,  attributed 
to  sacred  writings. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  even  these 
writings  are  generally  supposed  to  involve  an  exercise 
of  subconscious  intellection.  Their  authors  have  been 
almost  universally  represented  as  subject  to  influences 
exerted  through  the  subconscious  mind  in  other  ways. 
As  we  all  know,  this  is  claimed  to  have  been  true  of 
many  of  the  writers  of  the  Christian  Scriptures;  and 


SACRED   WRITINGS  91 

not  only  of  them,  but  of  Mohammed  and  Joseph  Smith; 
and  it  is  Kant,  the  philosopher,  who  is  authority  for 
the  trustworthiness  of  the  same  claim  as  made  by 
Swedenborg,  the  latter,  when  in  Denmark,  having,  ac- 
cording to  Kant's  testimony,  accurately  described  to 
him  at  the  time  of  their  occurrence,  certain  events— 
a  fire,  for  instance — taking  place  in  Stockholm.*  So 
much  as  to  the  general  connection  between  what  are 
termed  sacred  writings  and  the  other  methods  in  which 
effects  coming  from  or  through  subconscious  agency 
manifest  themselves. 

*A  similar  claim  is  made  also  by  the  essayist  mentioned  on  page  72.  It  is 
said  that,  some  years  before  the  essays  there  described  began  to  be  written,  this 
person,  who  had  been  for  many  years  an  invalid,  felt  one  day  a  chill  coming  on 
and,  at  the  same  moment,  began  to  describe  a  supposed  scene  outside  the  win- 
dow— an  Oriental  pasture-ground  and  a  shepherd  who  apparently  took  posses- 
sion of  this  person's  body,  which,  rendered  perfectly  rigid,  fell  to  the  floor.  The 
attendant,  instead  of  being  allowed  to  tender  assistance,  was  urged  to  take  a 
pen  and  write  as  dictated.  What  was  dictated  was  a  prediction,  which  came 
true,  that,  from  that  hour,  there  should  be  no  more  sickness,  and  that,  in  time, 
something  of  practical  importance  to  the  world,  which  subsequent  events  have 
caused  to  be  associated  with  these  essays,  should  be  revealed  through  the  agency 
of  the  invalid.  As,  too,  in  the  cases  of  Mohammed,  Swedenborg,  and  Smith, 
this  person  does  not  assume  to  have  been  influenced  to  supplant  Christianity, 
but  merely  to  interpret  and  develop  certain  phases  of  it.  The  whole  story, 
which  reads  like  a  leaf  torn  from  a  life  of  a  Joan  of  Arc,  the  author  himself  has 
heard  from  the  lips  both  of  the  person  receiving  these  communications  and — 
unless  in  this  one  regard  his  memory  fail  him — of  the  person  to  whom  the  first 
communication  was  dictated. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  MIND'S  CONTRIBUTIONS  FROM  CONSCIOUS  INTELLEC- 
TION TO  THAT  WHICH  IS  RECEIVED  THROUGH 
THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

Subconscious  and  Conscious  Influences  Manifested  in  All  Forms  of 
Intellection — Value  of  That  Obtainable  from  the  Former  Depends 
on  the  Character  of  That  Given  by  the  Latter — Obligation  of  an 
Inspired  Man  to  Interpret  Promptings  from  the  Subconscious  by 
His  Conscious  Intellection — Fulfilment  of  This  Obligation  Charac- 
teristic of  Writers— Consequent  Intellectual  Progress  Connected 
with  This  Form  of  Inspired  Communication  —  Recognizing  Re- 
lationship of  Christian  to  Other  Forms  of  Inspiration  Does  Not 
Impair  the  Authenticity  and  Authority  of  the  Christian  Scrip- 
tures—  Or  Lessen  One's  Veneration  for  Them  —  Nor  Does  the 
Acknowledgment  That  Signs  and  Wonders  Are  Wrought  in  Other 
Religions— The  Testimony  of  the  Christian  Scriptures  Upon  This 
Subject— Rationality  of  the  Scriptural  Test  as  Applied  to  Spirit- 
ism— Hudson's  Theory — Importance  of  Investigating  Spiritism — 
The  Dangers  Attendant  Upon  Accepting,  Without  Thinking,  Its 
So-called  Revelations  Also  Threaten  Those  Accepting,  in  the  Same 
Way,  Revelation  in  Any  Other  Form. 

As  was  indicated  on  page  56,  the  range  of  a  man's 
physical  possibilities  include  results  attributable  both 
to  subconscious  and  to  conscious  control;  and  it  is 
logical  to  infer  that  the  same  is  true  of  his  mental  pos- 
sibilities. In  other  words,  it  is  logical  to  infer  that 
some  effects  of  both  conscious  and  subconscious  con- 
trol are  to  be  found  in  everything  that  the  mind  does. 
In  religion  the  thoughts  and  emotions  which  are  first 
influenced  may  be  supposed,  for  reasons  already  given, 
to  be  in  the  subconscious  region,  the  results  of  which 


REVELATION  AND  RATIONALITY  93 

dominate  over  results — which  nevertheless,  as  we  shall 
find  hereafter,  must  interpret  them — in  the  conscious 
region;  whereas  in  science,  the  thoughts  and  emotions 
first  influenced  may  be  supposed  to  be  in  the  conscious  re- 
gion, the  results  of  which  dominate  over  results  in  the 
subconscious  region.  Let  it  be  understood  therefore  that 
while,  for  theoretical  purposes,  we  can  separate  subcon- 
scious from  conscious  mental  action,  this  is  not  because 
conceptions  in  either  religion  or  science  are  supposed 
to  be  determined  by  either  kind  of  action  exclusively. 

The  exact  truth  seems  to  be  that  whatever  is  received 
through  subconscious  agency  is  liable  to  be  more  or 
less  modified  by  thoughts  and  feelings  in  some  conscious 
mind.  This  conscious  mind  may  be  either  that  of  the 
person  who  is  being  influenced,  or  inspired,  as  we  say, 
by  or  through  his  own  subconscious  intellection;  or  it 
may  be  the  mind  of  another  who,  through  the  com- 
bined results  of  conscious  and  subconscious  processes, 
may  be  supposed  to  be  furnishing  external  suggestions 
to  the  inspired  person.  If  the  conscious  mind  be  that 
of  the  inspired  person  himself,  the  quality  and  value 
of  that  to  which  he  is  inspired  will  depend  upon  his 
own  intellectual  and  spiritual  attainments  and  charac- 
ter. Nothing  seems  to  have  been  more  clearly  proved 
than  the  fact  thus  stated.  In  the  degree  in  which  a 
man  becomes  wise,  the  promptings  of  his  conscience, 
for  instance,  which  furnish  one  phase  in  which  sub- 
intellection  manifests  itself,  coincide  with  the  deduc- 
tions of  rational  judgment  and  inference.  Moreover 


94         THE  PS YCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

— and  this  fact  is  interesting — in  the  degree  in  which 
there  is  this  coincidence;  i.e.,  in  the  degree  in  which 
the  effects  of  subconscious  mentality  are  exactly  paral- 
leled by  those  of  conscious  mentality — in  this  degree 
the  mind  itself  becomes  oblivious  of  any  distinction 
between  conscious  and  subconscious  processes.  It  is 
a  man  not  of  high  but  of  low  intellectual  and  spiritual 
attainments  who  is  constantly  thinking  and  therefore 
talking  about  duty  and  conscience;  that  is  to  say,  duty 
and  conscience  as  such  present  their  claims  most  strong- 
ly to  the  mind  that  is  most  strongly  prompted  to  dis- 
regard them.  The  wise  and  good  desire  what  is  wise 
and  good,  and  in  pursuing  them  are  hardly  conscious 
that  they  have  a  conscience.  So  with  the  educated 
and  refined  as  contrasted  with  their  opposites.  As  a 
rule,  only  the  comparatively  uncultivated  recognize  a 
clear  distinction  between  the  results  in  their  own  minds 
of  conscious  and  of  subconscious  intellection.  In  the 
degree  in  which  a  man's  mentality  is  of  a  high  order, 
or  has  been  highly  developed,  he  ceases  to  talk  in  an 
insane,  trancelike,  or  even  absent-minded  way.  At 
every  stage,  he  seems  to  hold  in  check  and  to  direct 
the  course  of  subconscious  logic  by  considerations  that 
are  in  conformity  with  fact  and  common  sense.  This 
is  probably  one  reason  why  the  ancient  Hebrews  were 
forbidden  to  consult  with  familiar  spirits  or  necro- 
mancers (Deut.  18;  10,  11),  as  well  as  why  it  is  said,  in 
1  Cor.  14;  32,  that  "the  spirits  of  the  prophets  are 
subject  to  the  prophets." 


THE  SPIRITUAL  AND  INTELLECTUAL        95 

Here  there  seems  to  be  the  clearest  kind  of  an  intima- 
tion of  an  obligation  on  the  part  of  even  an  inspired 
man  to  use  his  own  conscious  mental  powers  in  order  to 
preserve  the  balance  between  his  instinctive  subconscious 
promptings — which  promptings  may  be  sometimes  sym- 
pathetic, sometimes  conscientious,  and  sometimes  bigot- 
ed— and  the  rational  influences  of  his  conscious  nature. 
Otherwise,  if  he  do  not  preserve  this  balance,  he  may 
become  merely  an  enthusiast  or  fanatic,  as  intimated  in 
these  verses  following  the  one  just  quoted :  (33) i  l  For  God 
is  not  the  author  of  confusion  but  of  peace."  (40)  "Let 
all  things  be  done  decently  and  in  order." 

Now  notice  that  to  none  are  the  spirits  more  likely 
to  be  subject  than  to  a  prophet  who  is  a  writer. 
For  he,  as  a  rule,  is  a  thinker,  and  therefore  a  man  who, 
however  unconsciously  his  mind  may  work  at  times, 
is  always  more  or  less  under  the  influence  of  sugges- 
tions from  the  conscious  region,  even  if  merely  because 
he  is  always  accustomed,  before  his  words  are  com- 
mitted to  script,  to  review  and  to  correct  them.  This 
is  true  even  when  he  is  not  completely  aware  that  he 
is  thus  reviewing  them.  Perhaps  it  is  not  too  much 
to  say  that  no  thoroughly  cultivated  man  will  ever, 
whatever  may  be  the  sources  of  his  inspiration,  allow 
his  thoughts  to  leave  him  before  they  have  been  filtered 
through  the  clarifying  criticism  of  his  conscious  mind. 
For  this  reason,  sacred  literature  is  more  conformed  to 
the  rational  results  of  mental  action  than  is  any  other 
form  of  religious  influence. 


96          THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

Is  not  this  fact  sufficient  to  explain  the  remarkable 
intellectual  and  spiritual  progress  which  begins  to 
characterize  the  people  of  all  countries  just  as  soon  as 
they  begin  to  hold  the  theory  that  religious  truth  can 
be  wholly  or  chiefly  communicated  through  sacred 
writings?  A  peculiarity  of  the  Hebrew  religion  was  a 
belief  in  the  authority  of  a  traditional  written  law;  and 
the  people  were  forbidden  to  consult  familiar  spirits 
(Deut.  18;  10,  11)  or  to  hearken  to  diviners  (Jer.  27;  9), 
who,  but  for  these  traditional  Scriptures,  would  prob- 
ably have  been  the  chief  agents  of  religious  instruction. 
The  result  of  following  the  injunctions  of  a  written  law, 
rather  than  of  leaders  like  these,  was  a  cautious,  re- 
flective, calculating  habit  of  mind  which  two  thousand 
centuries  have  not  sufficed  to  eradicate  from  the  char- 
acter of  the  race.  The  same  characteristics  have  been 
developed,  too,  among  Protestant  Christian  nations, 
causing  them,  in  this  regard,  to  present  a  sharp  con- 
trast to  the  other  Christian  nations,  with  whom  a 
written  word  is  not  so  exclusively  authoritative.  A 
similar  characteristic  is  evident  also  among  the  people 
of  China  and  Japan,  who  are  guided  by  the  writings  of 
Confucius,  as  contrasted  with  the  inhabitants  of  Central 
Asia  and  of  Africa,  where  sacred  books  have  less  in- 
fluence than  have  fakirs  and  other  supposed  religious 
wonder-workers. 

It  is  sometimes  thought,  especially  in  Christian  com- 
munities, that  any  attempt  to  trace  all  the  different 
results  of  inspiration,  and,  therefore,  all  possible  forms 


REVELATION  AND  THE  OCCULT  97 

of  revealed  religion  to  or  through  exactly  the  same 
mediumship  of  occult  mental  action  is  practically  the 
same  as  an  attempt  to  lessen  a  belief  in  the  authen- 
ticity and  authority  of  the  sacred  writings  of  the 
Church,  and  thus  to  deprive  the  world  of  any  trust- 
worthy standards  of  faith  and  practise.  Let  us  con- 
sider;  for  a  little,  whether  this  opinion  is  justified. 
To  begin  with,  is  it  not  a  fact  that  the  vast  majority 
of  those  who  reject  the  teachings  of  the  Bible  do  so  be- 
cause at  heart  materialists?  And  are  they  not  mate- 
rialists largely  because  they  fail  to  recognize  that  there 
is  any  subconscious,  or  hidden,  mental  nature,  or  any 
consequent  possibility  of  one's  being  influenced  from  a 
spiritual  or  hidden  source?  Did  they  realize  these 
facts,  and,  therefore,  the  fact  that  the  method  of  re- 
ceiving truth  represented  in  the  Scriptures  is  not  out  of 
analogy  with  things  that,  with  reasonable  frequency, 
fall  to  the  lot  of  human  experience  in  other  directions, 
might  not  the  chief  cause  of  their  doubts  be  removed? 
And  if  this  cause  were  removed,  might  not  the  accept- 
ance of  the  plausibility  of  the  main  proposition  with 
reference  to  inspiration  preserve  for  the  theologian  a 
large  number  of  arguments  otherwise  not  available; 
and  with  these  might  he  not  substantiate  important 
subordinate  propositions? 

But,  says,  perhaps,  the  objector,  the  view  that  has 
been  presented  implies  that  the  mind  acts  according 
to  the  same  method  when  coming  into  possession  both 
of  that  which  is  religiously  true,  and  of  that  which  is 


98          THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

religiously  false;  and  this  view  tends  to  lessen  the  rel- 
ative esteem  in  which  one  should  regard  the  former. 
At  first  thought,  this  inference  is  natural,  perhaps,  but 
will  it  stand  the  test  of  reflection?  To  say  that,  in 
both  cases,  the  method  of  receiving  the  truth  is  the 
same  is  not  to  say  that  the  truth  itself  is  the  same. 
Because  we  receive  information  about  both  cold  stone 
and  red-hot  iron  through  the  same  sense  of  touch,  it 
does  not  follow  that  the  things  felt  are  the  same,  or 
affect  us  similarly.  To  acknowledge  that  many  differ- 
ent cases  may  involve  a  method  of  becoming  acquainted 
with  objective  influences  such  as  do  not  necessitate 
communication  through  one  of  the  five  physical  senses, 
does  not  involve  acknowledging  the  equal  trustworthi- 
ness of  all  things  communicated  through  the  method. 
It  does  not  involve  ranking  every  mind-reader  or 
"medium"  with  the  great  prophets.  To  perceive 
partial  analogies  between  the  influence  exerted  by 
the  former  and  by  the  latter  does  not  involve  giving  a 
similar  rating  to  all  of  them.  But  it  does  involve  a 
recognition  of  the  use,  in  all  cases,  of  similar  mental 
possibilities.  It  does  involve  this  very  logical  con- 
clusion of  common  sense — that,  only  in  the  degree  in 
which  men  realize  that  there  is  some  method  of  in- 
fluencing them  through  an  objective  appeal  of  which 
they  become  conscious  not  from  without  but  from 
within,  can  they  realize  that  the  kingdom  of  God— 
tho  there  may  be  much  there  besides  this — is,  as  stated 
in  Luke  17;  21,  within  them. 


SIGNS  AND   WONDERS  99 

But  this  line  of  argument,  the  objector  may  say 
again,  involves  an  admission  that  not  only  revealed 
words,  but  " signs  and  wonders"  that  accompany  and 
attest  the  authority  of  these  words,  are  common  to  all 
religions;  and  are  not  necessarily  fraudulent  in  inferior 
religions.  Yes;  but  is  this  admission  dangerous?  Is 
it  not  more  dangerous  to  hold  an  opposite  theory? 
Would  you  have  people  accept  as  true  what  a  man 
says  merely  because  he  works  what  seem  to  be  mir- 
acles? Magicians,  hypnotizers,  mind-readers,  clairvoy- 
ants, fortune-tellers,  all  do  this,  and  some  of  them  who 
can  tell  with  remarkable  accuracy  numbers  of  things 
that  one  has  done  in  the  past,  as  well  as  what  is  going 
on  at  a  distance,  frequently  make  statements  that  are 
utterly  untrustworthy  when  referring  to  the  most  or- 
dinary occurrences.  What  would  be  the  result  if  the 
words  of  such  were  taken  for  the  eternal,  the  infinite, 
and  the  absolute  truth?  Many  of  us  refuse  to  follow 
the  ecclesiastical  guidance  of  Joseph  Smith,  the  founder 
of  the  Mormon  faith.  Yet  much  of  his  influence  is  at- 
tributable to  the  fact  that  he  was  a  successful  reader 
of  experience,  character,  and  thought  through  a  "  peep- 
stone,"  as  it  was  termed.  Which  theory  would  con- 
ventional Christians  have  had  a  right  to  consider  the 
more  dangerous  to  the  regions  visited  by  him — that 
which  denies  the  existence  of  a  method  of  mental  action 
like  his  unless  one  is  divinely  inspired,  or  that  which 
admits  its  existence  even  where  there  is  no  divine  in- 
spiration? 


100       THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

It  seems  as  if  here,  at  least,  the  writers  of  the  Bible 
were  right.  They  did  not  deny  that  the  Witch  of  En- 

->  dor  (1  Sam.  28;  7-25)  or  Simon  the  Sorcerer  (Acts  8; 

'  9-11)  could  produce  genuinely  supernormal  results. 
They  admitted  that  the  wise  men  of  Egypt  "did  in  like 
manner  with  their  enchantments"  to  Moses  (Ex.  7;  11). 
But  truth  was  not  therefore  attributed  to  the  utterances 
of  such  characters.  There  was  a  clear  intimation  that, 
tho  " signs  and  wonders"  may  legitimately  call  atten- 
tion to  a  religious  leader,  there  are  better  ways  through 
which  to  assure  oneself  of  the  truth  of  his  utterances. 
" Blessed  are  they/'  said  Jesus,  "that  hear  the  word 
of  God,  and  keep  it.  An  evil  generation  .  .  .  seek  a 

^sign"  (Luke  11;  28,  29).  "Believe  not  every  spirit," 
even  tho  it  be  a  spirit,  said  John,  "but  try  the  spirits 
whether  they  are  of  God"  (1  John  4;  1). 

On  the  whole,  is  not  this  that  the  Apostle  John  en- 
joins a  sensible  thing  to  do;  and  a  sensible  principle 
upon  which  to  act  when  doing  it?  Does  it  not  afford 
the  best  "working  plan"  to  recommend  to  those  who 
seem  in  danger  of  allowing  credulity  or  superstition  to 
overbalance  their  judgment?  If  we  seek  to  influence 
them  by  telling  them  that  they  are  dupes  or  con- 
sorters  with  evil  spirits,  we  may  merely  repel  them. 
If  not  angry  with  us,  they  may,  at  least,  lose  confi- 
dence in  our  opinions.  But  in  the  degree  in  which  we 
succeed  in  getting  them  to  try  the  supposed  spirits  we 
may  hope,  in  case  they  be  deceived,  to  have  them  dis- 
cover the  fact.  It  is  not  the  man  of  open  mind — the 


MEDIUMS  101 

man  who  is  willing  frankly  and  fairly  to  try  a  new 
thing,  and  think  it  over  before  passing  judgment  on  it 
—who  is  in  danger  of  becoming  a  victim  to  false  no- 
tions. It  is  the  man  of  closed  mind,  who  is  willing  to 
think  about  nothing.  To  him  alone  does  one  sparrow, 
no  matter  what  the  season,  make  a  summer;  and  one 
psychic  phenomenon — no  matter  how  orthodox  he  has 
been  before — prove  the  presence  of  a  true  prophet. 
No  wonder  his  friends  try  to  keep  him  away  from 
"mediums."  If  these  know  one  thing  that  he  fails  to 
understand,  or  to  have  learned,  he  may  imagine  that 
they  know  all  things.  Of  course,  they  do  not,  and 
can  not;  and  what  they  do  know,  or  can  know,  they 
frequently  fail  to  report  correctly.  The  record  of  the 
police  courts  of  every  large  city  reveal  that  many  a 
" professional"  fortune-teller,  clairvoyant,  or  medium 
is  merely  a  paid  agent,  leading  the  credulous  into 
speculation,  and  even,  occasionally,  into  vice.  The 
slight  facility  in  mind-reading  which  enables  him  to 
give  his  visitors'  names  and  vaguely  tell  half  a  dozen 
incidents  of  their  past  lives  is  supposed  to  guarantee 
infallible  wisdom  of  advice  with  reference  to  buying 
stock  in  some  mine  that  has  no  value,  or  to  seeking 
employment  in  some  house  in  which  virtue  is  by  no 
means  its  own  reward.  Even  a  "professional"  who 
intends  no  harm  may  be  indolent  or  self-indulgent,  or, 
at  least,  loath,  for  a  few  dimes,  to  undergo  the  nervous 
exhaustion  frequently  incident  upon  a  genuine  prac- 
tise of  his  "gift."  The  author  himself,  upon  placing 


102       THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

his  hand  on  the  heart  of  one  man  when  in  this  abnormal 
state,  found  it  beating  at  the  rate  of  almost  two  hun- 
dred strokes  a  minute.  No  wonder  if  the  "medium" 
thus  affected  preferred  ordinarily,  as  was  said  of  him, 
to  practise  sleight  of  hand,  accompanied  by  tales  con- 
jured from  his  own  normal  imagination.  Other  "me- 
diums," again,  who  have  no  wish  to  deceive,  are  so 
constituted,  sympathetically,  that  the  very  hypnotic 
susceptibility  enabling  them  to  give  reports  from  the 
subconscious,  forces  them  to  report,  more  than  any- 
thing else,  that  which  is  in  the  thought  and  wish  of 
their  visitor.  Others  still — and  this  is  a  very  frequent 
result — with  the  most  honest  intentions,  seem  unable 
to  distinguish  what  subconscious  intellection,  supposed 
to  be  sent  on  its  journey,  sees  or  hears  from  what 
consciousness  imagines  it  possible  to  see  or  hear.  Of 
course,  to  follow  implicitly  the  advice  of  either  of  these 
last  two  classes  would  be  about  as  wise  as  to  follow 
that  of  an  insane  person.  Finally,  there  are  others 
who,  tho  they  seem  to  be  able  to  distinguish  the  mental 
action  that  is  subconscious,  mistake  its  significance, 
and,  as  in  the  case  mentioned  on  page  66,  give  advice 
that  is  erroneous. 

Thomas  J.  Hudson,  in  his  "Laws  of  Psychic  Phenom- 
ena," attributes  all  occult  communications  to  subcon- 
scious mentality,  acting  either  independently  or  as 
influenced  by  the  conscious  or  unconscious  thoughts 
or  feelings  of  others.  Modern  spiritists  do  not  believe 
that  this  theory  can  account  for  all  the  facts.  Owing 


MEDIUMS  103 

to  communications  apparently  received  from  some  per- 
son who  has  passed  away,  and  who  only,  as  is  alleged, 
could  know  of  occurrences  that  are  mentioned,  they 
attribute  many  of  the  phenomena  of  which  we  have 
been  speaking  to  the  influence  of  spirits.  But  sup- 
pose that  one  accept  this  theory-— what  then?  Does 
it  change,  in  the  least,  the  conditions  pointed  out  in 
the  last  paragraph?  May  not  communications  coming 
through  a  genuine  medium  be  just  as  untrustworthy 
as  they  would  be  if  coming  through  one  whose  "gift" 
was  owing  to  some  phase  of  what  is  termed  mere  hyp- 
notism? Are  not  many  statements  that  are  made  by 
mediums  untrue?  Are  not  many  of  their  prophecies 
never  fulfilled?  Is  not  much  of  their  advice  mislead- 
ing? Suppose  that  a  medium  have  every  personal 
trait  necessary  to  genuineness,  honesty,  and  an  intel- 
ligent interpretation  of  communications.  May  not, 
now  and  then,  some  deceitful  spirit  indite  them? 
What  indisputable  proof  can  we  find  that  they  are 
indited  by  that  lost  friend  of  ours,  say  our  mother,  or 
by  that  famous  warrior,  say  Napoleon,  or  by  that  re- 
ligious man,  say  Beecher,  whom  the  spirit  purports  to 
be?  Now  add  one  more  consideration,  which  is  that 
in  the  vast  majority  of  cases  predictions  given  in  this 
way  that  are  afterward  fulfilled  attract,  when  first 
heard,  little  attention,  and  are  brought  to  an  issue, 
as  in  the  cases  mentioned  on  pages  69  and  91,  without 
any  directing  effort  on  the  part  of  the  one  receiving 
them;  and  does  not  the  value  of  such  advice  for  com- 


104       THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

mercial  or  any  materially  practical  purposes  appear 
exceedingly  slight?  And  do  not  the  dangers  of  fol- 
lowing the  advice  appear  correspondingly  great? 

We  should  not  overlook  the  fact,  however,  that  this 
whole  subject,  considered  theoretically  or  theologic- 
ally, is  in  itself  of  great  importance.  What  can  be 
more  important  than  that  which  concerns  the  appre- 
hension of  the  possibilities,  mental  or  spiritual,  of  the 
subconscious  processes  of  mind — of  their  capabilities 
of  receiving  and  giving  impressions,  whether  before 
death  or  after  it?  On  the  whole,  therefore,  notwith- 
standing the  dangers,  this  importance  justifies  philo- 
sophic and  scientific  investigation.  Nor,  in  refutation 
of  this  view,  is  it  sufficient  to  quote  the  old  Hebrew 
laws  against  witchcraft  and  sorcery,  as  in  Deut.  18;  10, 
11.  These  laws,  much  as  they  may  have  been  needed 
in  order  to  uphold,  in  an  unscientific  age,  the  authority 
of  a  theocracy  governed  by  a  priesthood,  can  not  be 
proved  to  be  applicable  to  the  same  extent  in  our  own 
age  and  circumstances;  and  if  they  could  be  proved  to 
be  so,  a  strong  argument  could  be  framed  to  show  that 
they  do  not  apply  to  an  investigating  attitude  of  mind, 
but  to  the  opposite  of  this — to  an  attitude  of  mind 
in  which,  waiving  the  exercise  of  his  own  judgment 
and  reason,  a  man  is  looking  to  the  occult  for  that 
which  can  take  the  place  of  them.  We  may  be  sure 
that,  in  this  world,  nothing  can  ever  rightly  do  this— 
a  statement  that  is  equally  applicable  whether  one  be 
seeking  to  solve  the  petty  problems  of  material  life  or 


REASON  MUST  TEST  REVELA  TION         105 

the  profounder  ones  of  spiritual  life.  Every  circum- 
stance connected  with  the  formation  or  development 
of  character  proves  that  our  own  minds  are  given  us 
to  be  used  by  ourselves.  Nor  should  we  expect  any 
worthy  gain  in  life,  individual  or  collective,  from  a 
course  in  which  any  other  agency  is  allowed  to  inter- 
fere with  our  using  them  to  the  utmost  degree  that  is 
possible. 

The  trustworthiness  of  this  view  will  be  confirmed 
upon  our  recalling  that  the  misunderstandings  and 
errors  incident  to  the  form  of  psychic  communications 
just  considered  are  not  peculiar  to  it,  but  are  likely  to 
occur  in  connection  with  any  similarly  occult  method 
of  influencing  thought  and  emotion.  Of  course,  the 
communications  considered  inspired  in  Christianity  dif- 
fer greatly  from  those  in  spiritism.  The  former  are 
handed  down  the  ages  in  written  records,  and,  because 
these  require  more  intelligence  on  the  part  of  the  com- 
municators than  does  any  other  form  of  communica- 
tion, we  may  suppose  their  results  to  be  more  intel- 
ligent. At  the  same  time,  as  stated  in  the  Introduction 
to  this  volume,  all  forms  of  inspired  communica- 
tion, even  those  in  sacred  books,  can  be  proved  histor- 
ically to  involve  more  or  less  ambiguity  and  tendency 
to  misapprehension.  Nor  is  this  fact,  as  applied  even 
to  the  Christian  Scriptures,  without  its  dangers.  How 
many  times  and  for  how  many  centuries  has  the  right 
to  be  educated,  to  think  for  oneself,  and  to  follow  the 
dictates  of  one's  own  conscience  been  denied,  and  the 


106        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

right  to  enforce  acceptance  of  officials  and  dogmas 
through  exercise  of  extreme  cruelty  and  persecution 
been  affirmed! — all  in  supposed  fulfilment  of  injunc- 
tions, or  examples  of  the  proper  methods  of  obeying 
injunctions,  given  in  the  Bible!  No  candid  mind, 
considering  the  subject  fully,  can  fail  to  admit  that  the 
errors  incident  upon  following,  without  exercising  ra- 
tional discrimination,  the  dictation  of  a  spirit-medium 
are  also  incident — tho  more  subtly,  perhaps,  and  to  a 
far  less  degree — upon  following,  without  exercising 
the  same,  the  dictations  of  the  Christian  Scriptures. 
In  these  errors  attendant  upon  not  interpreting  the 
Scriptures  rightly  we  have  a  reason  for  the  careful 
study  of  the  nature  of  revelation  in  addition  to  the 
reason  mentioned  in  our  Introduction,  which  con- 
cerned their  being  discredited  by  thoughtful  minds  on 
account  of  their  apparent  inaccuracies. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  NECESSARILY  SUGGESTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  INSPIRED 
OR  REVEALED  TRUTH 

Ambiguity  and  Indefiniteness  Seem  Characteristic  of  the  Communica- 
tions Received  Through  Inspiration  and  Revelation— The  Method 
of  Action  of  the  Inner  Sphere  of  the  Mind  May  Render  This  Result 
Necessary— We  Can  Study  This  Method  Through  the  Analogous 
Methods  of  Hypnotism — Limitations  of  This  Study — Hypnotism 
Influences  Through  Suggestion,  Which  Leaves  Expression  Free 
and,  When  Influencing  Different  Minds,  Different— The  Bearing 
of  This  Argument  —  Analogies  from  Hypnotism  May  Explain 
Many  Things  Assigned  to  Spiritual  Influence  in  the  Scriptures— 
This  Is  so  of  Conversion — Of  Atonement,  of  Spiritual  Unity,  of 
Creation,  of  Probation,  of  Life  After  Death— Suggestive  Revelation 
May  Be  More  Influential  Than  Dictatorial — Additional  Evidence 
of  This — Suggestive  Control  in  Religion  Conforms  to  Divine  Con- 
trol as  Manifested  in  External  Nature — Suggestive  Nature  of 
Revealed  Truth  Already  Widely  Acknowledged  by  Christians— 
This  Acknowledgment  Not  Antagonistic  to  Continued  Study  of 
the  Scriptures— Illustration  of  the  Way  in  Which  the  Same  In- 
spired Truth  May  Be  Exprest  in  Different  Forms — Different 
Legends  in  Different  Religions  May  Give  Expression  to  the 
Same  Fundamental  Truth— Influence  of  This  Fact  Upon  Future 
Theologians. 

That  which  has  been  unfolded  in  the  chapters  pre- 
ceding this  has  sufficed,  it  is  hoped,  to  make  clear  that, 
in  all  religions  there  is  more  or  less  acknowledgment 
of  the  existence  of  an  occult  method  of  influencing  the 
mind  irrespective  of  the  ordinary  methods  of  communi- 
cating with  it  through  one  of  the  five  senses.  In  con- 
nection with  the  acknowledgment  of  this  method, 
let  us  now  recall  what  was  said  in  the  Introduction 


108        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

with  reference  to  the  acknowledgment  of  an  effect  of 
ambiguity  and  indefiniteness  produced  when  the  sub- 
ject of  the  occult  influence  endeavors  to  describe  or 
to  explain  his  experiences  to  others.  Even  those  in- 
clined to  deny  in  words  this  ambiguity  and  indefinite- 
ness  are  obliged  to  confess  them  in  their  deeds,  or  they 
would  not  admit  to  their  libraries  so  many  books  that 
interpret  differently  the  same  passages  in  the  same 
sacred  writings.  Such  books  prove,  beyond  question, 
a  condition  that  exists,  and  exists,  so  far  as  one  can 
judge,  universally.  But  can  it  be  said  that  this  con- 
dition should  exist,  and  this  by  necessity  f  If  the  latter 
could  be  proved,  it  would  do  more  than  anything  yet 
advanced  in  this  argument  to  explain  the  conditions, 
as  well  as  to  reconcile  our  minds  to  those  features  of 
them,  which,  according  to  what  was  said  on  page  7 
of  the  Introduction,  seem  inconsistent  with  what  may 
reverently  be  termed  the  obligations  of  Omniscience. 

So  far  we  have  considered  the  subject  before  us,  as  it 
were,  indirectly  and  from  the  outside,  judging  of  the 
methods  of  impressing  and  expressing  influence  exerted 
upon  the  inner  sphere  of  the  mind  from  the  results— 
i.e.,  from  what  men  so  influenced  say  or  do.  But  are 
we  sure  that  these  results  in  expression  are  traceable 
to  such  impressions  as  those  to  which  we  have  assigned 
them?  Of  course,  we  think  so;  but  are  we  sure  of  it; 
and,  if  not,  is  there  any  way  of  becoming  sure  of  it? 
Is  there  any  way  in  which,  in  accordance  with  the 
strictest  scientific  requirements,  we  can  show  how 


SCIENTIFIC  HYPNOTISM  109 

the  inner  mind  is  influenced  and  how  it  expresses 
the  results  of  this  influence?  Is  there  any  way  in 
which  one  can  do  for  the  subject  before  us  something 
akin  to  that  which  is  done  by  the  philosopher  when, 
from  metaphysics,  which  has  enabled  him  to  surmise 
the  methods  of  the  mind's  action,  he  turns  to  physics, 
and  laying  bare,  as  it  were,  the  nerves  of  the  brain, 
unravels  their  tangled  skein,  and  seeks  for  accurate 
knowledge  according  to  the  methods  of  physiological 
psychology  ? 

Yes,  there  is  a  way  of  so  studying  the  subject.  There 
is  a  way,  not  only  of  surmising,  but  of  knowing  as  a 
fact,  that  the  inner  processes  of  mind  can  be  influenced 
immediately,  and  not,  as  through  the  senses,  mediately; 
and  of  knowing  also  that,  when  thus  influenced,  they 
invariably  not  only  do  but  must  express  the  results  of 
this  influence  ambiguously,  indefinitely,  inaccurately, 
and,  at  times,  to  all  appearance,  conflictingly.  And 
this  way  is  one  the  truth  of  which  can  be  demonstrated 
scientifically.  It  is  found  in  hypnotism — not  hypo- 
thetical hypnotism  to  which  have  been  assigned  all 
sorts  of  unproved  phenomena  such  as  are  used  to  sus- 
tain the  claims  of  extreme  spiritists,  but  scientific  hyp- 
notism, the  phenomena  of  which,  and  the  methods  of 
producing  which,  can  be  studied  by  all,  and  the  laws 
of  which  are  acknowledged  by  all  who  have  studied 
the  subject  intelligently.  The  facts  acknowledged  are 
these.  A  scientific  hypnotizer,  when  once  he  has  his 
subjects  under  control,  can  influence  their  thoughts 


110        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

and  feelings  irrespective  of  that  which,  at  the  same 
time,  their  senses  perceive  in  the  real  world.  Not- 
withstanding what  they  actually  see,  hear,  or  expe- 
rience in  other  ways,  he  can  make  them  believe  that 
they  see,  hear,  or  experience  something  else;  and  he 
can  also  make  them  give  expression  in  words  and  deeds 
to  what  they  think  and  feel  with  reference  to  this 
something  else.  Such  a  hypnotizer  does  not  purport 
to  be  acting  under  the  control  of  a  spirit — i.e.,  to  be  in- 
spired to  do  something  of  the  methods  and  results  of 
which  he  himself  may  remain  unconscious.  He  claims 
to  be,  and  every  one  who  has  examined  into  the  nature 
of  the  influence  that  he  exerts  recognizes  him  to  be, 
acting  as  a  rational  man,  fully  conscious  of  his  own 
methods,  and  capable  of  reporting  authoritatively  what 
results  from  them.  He  can  know,  therefore,  and  can 
explain  to  us,  the  character  of  the  influence  which  he 
exerts  over  the  inner  mental  processes,  and  just  the 
degree  of  accuracy  with  which  those  whom  he  has 
hypnotized  give  expression  to  that  which  they  have 
received  from  him.  Accordingly,  unless  the  mind 
when  influenced  in  other  ways  than  through  the  eyes 
and  ears,  acts  differently  in  different  cases — which 
we  can  not  logically  infer — the  method  in  which  the 
hypnotizer  influences  this  may  be  supposed  to  follow 
the  analogy  of  the  method  in  which  a  spirit — of  what- 
ever rank  or  power — influences  it. 

Not,  of  course,  that  hypnotism,  or  anything  else,  can 
explain  everything  that  we  might  like  to  know  about 


THE  SPIRITUAL  SUBJECT  TO  LAW          111 

the  method.  Nothing  in  this  world  ever  explains 
everything.  What  is  important  for  us,  in  the  present 
case,  is  that  we  should  recognize  the  fact  of  the  ex- 
istence of  the  method  and  of  its  expressional  results, 
This  is  really  about  all  that  we  can  know  of  any  method 
that  we  term  natural.  When  we  have  learned  that  a 
certain  plant  grows  in  a  certain  place,  in  a  certain  way, 
developing  into  certain  limbs,  leaves,  flowers,  or  ber- 
ries that  produce  a  certain  effect,  we  have  about 
reached  the  possible  limits  of  human  knowledge  with 
reference  to  the  plant.  When  one  asks  why  it  grows 
as  it  does,  we  can  do  no  more  than  refer  the  cause  to 
its  own  nature.  So  when  any  one  asks  why  the  mind, 
when  influenced  irrespective  of  ordinary  effects  com- 
municated through  the  eyes  or  ears,  expresses  itself 
as  it  does,  we  can  do  no  more  than  refer  the  cause  of 
this  to  its  own  nature.  But,  notwithstanding  the 
limits  of  our  information,  when  we  have  really  found 
out  what  this  nature  causes  the  mind  to  do,  just  as 
when  we  have  found  out  what  the  nature  of  the  various 
plants  about  us  causes  them  to  do,  we  have  found  out 
what  is  of  immense  practical  value  both  to  thought  and 
to  life.  Moreover  as,  in  the  nature  of  things — to  go 
back  to  the  same  reason — the  Creative  Power  can  not 
be  expected  to  change  the  characteristics  once  given 
the  plant,  even  tho,  when  ignorantly  used  for  food,  it 
may  prove  deleterious  to  the  body,  so  the  same  Power 
can  not  be  expected  to  change  the  characteristics  once 
given  the  inner  sphere  of  the  mind,  even  tho,  when 


112        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

ignorantly  consulted  for  spiritual  guidance,  it  may 
prove  deleterious  to  the  spirit.  As  rational  beings, 
what  we  have  to  do  is  to  study  and  to  learn  the  nature 
of  mind,  as  of  other  things  which  experience  presents 
to  us,  and  then  to  think  and  to  act  in  accordance  with 
our  knowledge. 

It  seems  as  if  such  considerations  as  these  should 
cause  every  philosophic  theologian  to  study  carefully 
the  methods  of  hypnotism.  What  are  the  chief  of 
these? — The  preliminary  effect,  as  most  of  us  know,  is 
a  deadening  of  the  outer  consciousness.  This  is  pro- 
duced in  different  ways.  Sometimes  passes  with  the 
hands  are  made  in  front  of  the  patient's  eyes;  some- 
times his  attention  is  fixt  steadily  on  a  revolving  disk, 
or  upon  a  stationary  object;  and  sometimes  merely  a 
command  is  given.  For  our  purposes,  the  preliminary 
methods  of  inducing  the  state  are  immaterial.  What 
concerns  us  is  the  method  of  exerting  influence  over 
thoughts  and  feelings  after  the  state  has  been  induced. 
What  is  the  method?  Hypnotists  agree  in  declaring 
it  to  be  the  method  of  suggestion.  The  patient  is 
made  to  have  some  general  conception.  He  is  told, 
for  instance,  that  he  is  a  fisherman  or  a  fish,  a  soldier 
like  Napoleon  or  a  President  like  Garfield,  a  Demo- 
cratic stump-speaker  or  a  Republican  office-holder. 
Then  he  is  allowed  to  develop  the  suggestion  in  his  own 
way.  It  is  usually  asserted,  too,  that,  when  once  the 
suggestion  has  been  given,  whether  based  upon  what 
is  true  or  false,  all  the  processes  of  memory  or  logic 


HYPNOTIC  SUGGESTION  113 

which  are  started  in  the  patient's  mind  are  developed 
with  flawless  consistency.  At  least,  the  inhibitions 
and  checks  which  seem  inevitably  to  introduce  into  the 
processes  of  conscious  logic  more  or  less  of  that  which 
is  irrelevant,  are  removed.  When,  for  instance,  a 
patient  is  told  that  he  is  George  Washington,  or  is 
given  a  logical  problem  to  solve,  or  is  made  to  impro- 
vise an  oration  upon  some  subject,  or  attributed  to 
some  public  man  whose  opinions  are  well  known,  the 
result  seems  never  to  fail.  It  is  like  that  which  might 
come  from  a  perfectly  constructed  automatic  machine. 
Just  here,  however,  in  order  to  avoid  a  misapprehension 
that  might  arise,  it  is  important  to  notice  that  if,  in 
such  a  state,  a  patient  be  asked  to  repeat  deeds  that 
he  has  seen,  or  words  that  he  has  heard,  he  will  usually 
do  this  with  marvelous  accuracy;  but,  in  connection 
with  this  fact,  it  is  still  more  important  to  notice  that 
such  cases  of  repetition  afford  no  argument  from 
analogy  which  can  be  applied  to  inspiration,  for  the 
reason  that  in  them  the  patient  is  presumably  limited  to 
what  has  affected  his  mind  through  the  outer  senses  of 
seeing  and  hearing,  whereas  in  inspiration  the  inner 
mind  is  presumably  influenced  mainly  by  effects  not 
produced  through  the  outer  senses.  In  this  place, 
therefore,  we  are  called  upon  to  consider  such  cases  only 
as  do  not  involve  a  mere  quickening  of  the  normal 
memory  with  reference  to  things  actually  seen  or  heard. 
With  reference  to  all  these  cases,  it  can  be  said  that 
the  deeds  and  words  through  which  the  patient  repre- 


114        THE  PSYCHO L OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

sents  that  which  has  been  suggested  are  often  wholly 
unexpected  by  the  one  who  has  hypnotized  him.  In- 
deed, the  methods  through  which  two  or  more  patients 
represent  the  same  suggestion  are  never  exactly  the 
same.  They  can  not  be,  for  one  reason,  because  they 
depend  to  such  an  extent  upon  what  previous  ex- 
perience has  stored  in  each  one's  memory.  Besides 
this,  no  two  persons,  probably,  are  fitted  by  nature  to 
render  their  representations  equally  intelligible.  Dif- 
ferent patients,  therefore,  frequently  give  expression  to 
the  same  suggestion  in  very  different  ways.  Never- 
theless, the  general  effect  produced  upon  the  methods 
of  expression  of  all  the  patients  under  the  influence  of 
any  one  suggestion  at  any  one  time  is  the  same — a 
statement  which,  using  terms  in  a  broad  way,  could  be 
paralleled  by  saying  that  the  representations,  tho  dif- 
fering in  form,  are  all  alike  in  spirit. 

Before  going  on  to  illustrate  and  amplify  what  has 
been  said  let  us  try  to  bring  clearly  before  our  minds 
the  reason  why  it  is  important  to  illustrate  and  amplify 
them.  Let  us  notice  the  bearing  of  them  upon  our  gen- 
eral subject.  This  may  be  briefly  stated  as  follows: 
if  suggestion  be  the  method  through  which,  irrespect- 
ive of  any  form  of  communication  made  through  the 
senses,  the  inner  or  subconscious  processes  of  mind  are 
influenced  in  such  cases  as  are  susceptible  of  full  exam- 
ination, it  is  logical  to  conclude  that  the  same  may  be 
the  method  through  which  these  processes  are  influ- 
enced in  cases  not  susceptible  of  full  examination. 


HYPNOTISM  AND  INSPIRATION  115 

There  may  be  and  must  be  different  characteristics  in 
the  sources  of  this  influence  and  different  degrees  in 
which  it  exerts  its  control,  and  therefore  there  must 
be  differences  in  the  character  of  the  expression  and  in 
the  accuracy  with  which  it  represents  the  effects  of  the 
control;  but  until  the  human  mind  is  changed  so  as  to 
become  what  all  known  facts  prove  it  not  to  be,  we 
have  no  rational  right  to  infer  that  any  quality  or 
quantity  of  such  control  can  make  the  influence  which 
is  exerted  anything  but  suggestive,  or  the  expression  of 
the  effects  of  the  influence  anything  but  that  which  is 
natural  to  the  expression  of  suggestion. 

Just  at  this  point  it  is  not  unlikely  that  some  reader 
will  be  inclined  to  follow  this  line  of  thought  no  further. 
To  compare  the  highest  inspiration  to  anything  re- 
sembling an  effect  accompanying  hypnotism,  or  revela- 
tion to  anything  in  the  least  resembling  an  hypnotic  sug- 
gestion, may  seem  to  involve  suppositions  which  a  due 
regard  for  the  dictates  of  reverence  or  conscience  should 
not  tolerate.  But  let  him  pause  and  consider  the  sub- 
ject for  a  moment  just  as  it  is  presented.  Not  the 
slightest  intimation  has  been  given  that  the  influences 
produced  by  a  man  in  hypnotism  are  presumed  to  be 
on  a  level  with  those  produced  by  the  Supreme  Spirit 
in  inspiration.  It  has  been  supposed  merely  that  the 
two  may  be  produced  by  a  similar  method  because 
affecting  a  similar  inner  sphere  of  the  mind.  Thus 
understood,  what  is  here  to  be  said  may  afford  illustra- 
tions by  way  of  analogy  which  may  prove  exceedingly 


116        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

helpful,  inasmuch  as  they  may  make  certain  claims  of 
religion  appear  more  in  conformity  than  they  some- 
times do  to  accepted  laws  of  nature  and  of  reason. 
For  instance,  Mr.  Thomas  Jay  Hudson  in  "The  Law 
of  Psychic  Phenomena"  maintains  that  the  result  of 
suggestion  exerted  upon  subconscious  mental  action  in 
hypnotism  is  in  exact  accord  with  that  produced  by 
the  central  doctrine  of  Christianity,  namely,  salvation 
through  faith.  When  a  patient  is  told  "You  are 
Abraham  Lincoln,"  it  is  through  exercising  a  form  of 
faith  that  he  voluntary  yields  his  own  will,  believes  the 
words  that  are  told  him,  and  becomes,  to  his  own  con- 
ception, what  the  hypnotizer  suggests.  Yet  the  hyp- 
notizer  suggests  this  in  only  a  very  general  way,  and 
watches,  with  as  much  interest  as  any  one  else,  to  see 
what  will  be  the  result  of  his  subject's  conception  of 
Mr.  Lincoln's  character.  In  like  manner,  according 
to  the  Christian  theory,  when  the  Christ  told  men  that 
they  were  sons  of  God  they  became  these  by  believing 
in  him  and  in  his  words,  and  voluntarily  yielding  their 
wills  to  him;  but  at  the  same  time  he  merely  suggested 
a  conception  which  they  were  left  free  to  carry  out  in 
their  own  ways.  He  did  not  for  either  individuals  or 
communities  dictate  actions  or  formulate  creeds.  His 
followers  were  "called  unto  liberty"  (Gal.  5;  13). 
Again,  if  one  wonder  how  faith  can  permanently  change 
character,  even  ordinary  hypnotism,  which  is  not  a 
divine  but  merely  a  human  agency  subordinating  con- 
sciousness in  such  ways  as  to  allow  the  subconscious 


SUGGESTION  AS  REMEDIAL  117 

to  be  influenced  directly,  may  throw  some  light  upon 
this  subject. 

Observe  the  following  from  an  article  by  Dr.  R.  Os- 
good  Mason  on  "The  Educational  Uses  of  Hypnotism/' 
from  the  North  American  Review  for  October,  1896. 
"In  the  summer  of  1884,"  he  says,  "there  was  at  the 
Salpetriere,  a  young  woman  of  a  deplorable  type — a 
criminal  lunatic,  filthy  in  habits  and  violent  in  de- 
meanor, and  with  a  lifelong  history  of  impurity  and 
theft.  M.  Auguste  Voisin,  one  of  the  physicians  of  the 
hospital  staff,  undertook  to  hypnotize  her  at  a  time 
when  she  could  be  kept  quiet  only  by  the  strait- 
jacket  and  the  continuous  douche  to  the  head.  She 
would  not  look  at  the  operator,  but  raved  and  spat  upon 
him.  M.  Voisin,  however,  kept  his  face  close  to  hers, 
and  followed  her  eyes  wherever  she  moved  them.  In 
ten  minutes  she  was  asleep,  and  in  five  minutes  more 
she  passed  into  the  sleep-walking  or  somnambulistic 
state,  and  began  to  talk  incoherently.  This  treatment 
being  repeated  on  many  successive  days,  she  gradually 
became  sane  when  in  the  hypnotic  condition,  tho  she 
still  raved  when  awake.  At  length  she  came  to  obey  in 
her  waking  hours  commands  imprest  upon  her  in  her 
trance — trivial  matters,  such  as  to  sweep  her  room — 
then  suggestions  involving  marked  changes  in  her  be- 
havior; finally,  in  the  hypnotic  state,  she  voluntarily 
exprest  regret  for  her  past  life,  and,  of  her  own  accord, 
made  good  resolutions  for  the  future,  which  she  carried 
out  when  awake,  and  the  improvement  in  her  conduct 


118       THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

was  permanent.  Two  years  later  M.  Voisin  wrote  that 
she  was  a  nurse  in  a  Paris  hospital,  and  that  her  con- 
duct was  irreproachable." 

There  are  several  other  of  the  accredited  results  of 
religious  influence  that  a  recognition  of  these  analogies 
between  it  and  hypnotic  influence  may  render  more 
conceivable.  Take,  for  instance,  the  effects  supposed 
to  be  produced  by  the  incarnation  and  atonement  of 
Jesus.  As  a  rule,  even  such  a  degree  of  confidence  as 
must  antedate  the  influence  of  a  hypnotizer  must  de- 
pend upon  his  subject's  belief  not  only  in  his  ability, 
but  in  his  good-will  and  kindly  interest.  But  what  can 
afford  the  highest  evidence  of  these? — what  but  love? 
And  how  does  love  manifest  itself?  In  this  world  it  is 
simply  a  universal  law  that  love,  from  that  of  a  friend 
to  that  of  a  mother,  manifests  itself  in  self-sacrifice,  and 
the  degree  of  it  in  the  degree  of  self-sacrifice.  "Greater 
love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a  man  lay  down  his 
life  for  his  friend"  (John  15;  13).  Notice  again  the 
conception  of  the  spiritual  unity  of  the  Christ  with  God, 
as  well  as  the  associated  conception  of  which  the  Church, 
with  its  literalism  (when  applied  exclusively,  as  all 
literalism  must  be,  to  only  a  single  application  of  the 
general  principle  involved),  is  in  danger  of  losing  sight 
—the  conception  of  the  spiritual  unity  of  all  believers 
with  God,  the  conception  exprest  in  the  prayer  of  Jesus, 
in  John  17;  21:  "That  they  all  may  be  one;  as  thou, 
Father,  art  in  me  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be 
one  in  us."  Can  anything  in  human  experience  cause 


HYPNOTIC  AND  RELIGIOUS  INFLUENCE  119 

us  to  conceive  of  the  possibility  of  spiritual  unity  exist- 
ing at  the  same  time  with  separate  personality,  as  well 
as  an  understanding  of  the  ascertained  fact  that  a 
hypnotizer  can  actually  control  the  mind  of  his  patient, 
and  yet,  as  in  the  case  in  which  he  tells  him  that  he  is 
Abraham  Lincoln,  can  allow  him  virtual  freedom  of 
both  thought  and  action;  allow  him,  that  is,  to  develop 
his  own  conception  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  character?*  Again, 
take  the  statement  in  the  opening  of  the  Bible,  that  the 
world  was  created  in  six  days,  and  the  corresponding 
statements  in  Is.  34;  4,  and  Rev.  6;  14,  that  the  heavens 
shall  finally  be  rolled  together  as  a  scroll.  It  may  be 
said  with  truth  that  there  is  only  one  possible  explana- 
tion in  accordance  with  which  such  statements  can  be 
shown  to  be  analogous  to  anything  supposable  in  human 
experience.  A  hypnotizer  can  make  a  dozen  or  more 
men  all  agree  in  conceiving  of  themselves  as  being  in  a 
place  wholly  different  from  that  in  which  they  were  a 
moment  before.  What  is  to  prevent  millions  of  think- 
ing creatures  from  being  made  to  perceive  a  world 
created  out  of  nothing,  and  kept  believing  in  it  for 
generations  and  then  being  made  as  suddenly  to  see  this 

*The  fact  that  a  subject,  tho  hypnotized  and  thus  caused  mentally  to  de- 
velop a  false  premise  (see  page  148),  nevertheless  usually  continues  to  give  ex- 
pression to  his  own  idiosyncrasies — a  man,  for  instance,  to  manifest  his  sense  of 
dignity,  and  a  woman  her  sense  of  modesty — is  important.  It  shows  not  only 
the  groundlessness  of  much  of  the  fiction  which  ascribes  the  commission  of  crime 
to  hypnotic  influence,  but  also  a  reason  for  supposing  that  the  agent  of  expres- 
sion, however  elsewise  influenced,  is,  in  the  last  analysis,  the  subconscious  self, 
and  so  for  supposing  also,  as  far  as  the  conditions  throw  light  upon  life  as  it  will 
be  when  wholly  free  from  the  body,  that  selfhood,  individuality  of  character, 
will  continue  in  the  future  state. 


120        THE  PSYCH OLOGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

world  disappear?  Nothing  except  a  lack  in  the  uni- 
verse of  power  able  to  exert  the  same  kind  of  influence 
on  all  minds  that  is  now  exerted  on  a  few  minds. 
Similar  considerations  may  show  us  why  it  is  rational 
to  suppose  that  the  future  life  of  the  individual  should  be 
wholly  determined  by  his  present  life,  not  only  spiri- 
tually considered  but  intellectually.  In  the  results  of 
hypnotism,  we  have  a  picture  of  what  the  mind  does 
when  its  own  physical  powers  are  not  dominant  over 
it.  What  does  it  do?  It  goes  on  developing  the 
premise  last  or,  at  least,  most  strikingly  presented  to  it. 
It  perceives  in  itself  and  in  its  visible  surroundings 
whatever  the  hypnotizer  suggests  as  being  there.  It 
experiences  the  literal,  as  well  as  poetic,  truth  of  what 
Milton  says: 

The  mind  is  its  own  place,  and  in  itself 
Can  make  a  heaven  of  hell,  a  hell  of  heaven. 

Paradise  Lost,  1. 

Let  the  suggestion  embody  a  belief  in  the  Fatherhood 
of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  souls — what  could  pre- 
vent the  mind's  continuing,  after  being  freed  from  the 
body,  to  live  on  forever  in  the  same  belief?  " To-day," 
said  Jesus  to  the  penitent  thief  upon  the  cross — "  to-day 
shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  Paradise"  (Luke  23;  43). 
Who  shall  say  that  it  is  not  strictly  in  accordance  with 
the  laws  of  this  world  as  well  as  of  the  next  that  this 
promise  should  be  fulfilled?  Again,  the  inner  processes 
of  thought,  when  not  outwardly  checked,  develop,  as 
has  been  said,  with  complete  recollective,  logical,  and 


SUGGESTIVE  INFLUENCE  EFFECTIVE      121 

illustrative  consistency  that  which  previous  experience 
has  stored.  Now  so  far  as  what  is  thus  developed  has 
its  germs  in  previous  experience,  so  far  is  it  not  logical 
to  conclude  that  spiritual  life  in  the  next  world  must 
continue  to  unfold  from  ideals  formed  in  this  world? 
and  if  so,  have  we  not  a  provision  for  eternal  limitation? 
But  if,  at  the  same  time,  the  mind  through  memory, 
logic,  and  imagination  can  develop  its  stores  in  ways 
practically  infinite,  then,  in  connection  with  limitation, 
have  we  not  also  a  provision  for  infinite  expansion? 
And  if  we  can  answer  such  questions  in  the  affirmative, 
can  we  not  perceive  more  clearly  than  otherwise  one 
reason  why  life  in  this  world  should  be  one  of  probation 
and  acquirement,  but  in  the  next  world  one  of  fruition 
and  rest?  Besides  this,  if  minds  be  able  to  have  occult 
intercourse  with  one  another,  what  is  to  prevent  the 
discoveries,  inventions,  and  conceptions  of  every  age, 
which  must  necessarily,  perhaps,  be  confined  to  a 
material  plane,  from  being  a  help  to  those  who  have 
gone  before,  and  who  are  now  upon  a  spiritual  plane? 
If  nothing  can  prevent  this,  then  we  may  understand 
why  a  patriarch  of  old  should  expect  to  be  blest  owing 
to  the  character  and  achievements  of  his  descendants, 
and  why  the  presence  of  a  cloud  of  witnesses  on  high 
(Heb.  12;  1)  should  be  used  as  an  inducement  to  one 
who  cares  little  for  anything  except  the  opportunity  of 
helping  others. 

So  much  for  certain  analogies  between  the  suggestive 
influence   accompanying  hypnotism   and   that  which 


122        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

in  religion  is  termed  inspiration.  But  what,  it  may  be 
asked,  about  the  analogies  between  the  results  of  sug- 
gestion and  the  results  of  inspiration  which  are  termed 
revelations?  Is  not  the  attempt  to  prove  that  the 
statements  of  a  religious  leader  or  writer  should  be  con- 
sidered suggestive,  rather  than  dictatorial,  equivalent 
to  an  attempt  to  lessen  a  man's  regard  for  the  authority 
of  the  source  from  which  the  statements  come,  and  to 
diminish  their  influence  upon  him?  It  undoubtedly 
is  equivalent  to  this  as  applied  to  the  letter  or  form  of 
the  statements,  but  not  as  applied  to  the  spirit  of  them; 
not  as  applied  to  the  general  subject-matter  or  the 
principle  to  which  the  statements  give  expression. 
Nor  does  the  conception  that  the  general  subject-matter, 
or  the  principle  involved,  is  exprest  suggestively  tend 
to  weaken  such  effects  as  this  is  fitted  to  exert  upon  the 
minds  to  which  it  is  addrest.  If  we  be  told  that  a  father 
trains  his  son  not  through  the  use  of  explicit,  dictatorial 
injunctions,  but  by  way  of  suggestion,  we  do  not  neces- 
sarily infer  that  he  has  less  authority  or  influence  with 
his  son  than  have  other  parents  who  use  the  other 
method.  We  are  often  inclined  to  think  the  contrary. 
Any  parents  with  superior  physical  strength  who  dic- 
tate what  their  boy  shall  do,  will  be  obeyed  as  long  as 
they  are  in  sight.  But  this  method  will  not  always 
cause  the  boy  to  obey  them  when  they  are  not  in  sight. 
Nothing  but  regard  and  love  for  his  parents  will  make 
him  do  this.  Regard  and  love  are  occasioned  by  mani- 
festations of  wisdom  and  sympathy;  and  these  traits, 


THE  LETTER  AND  THE  SPIRIT  123 

in  the  treatment  of  a  child  are  never  manifested  as 
fully  as  by  the  parent  who  governs  through  suggestion. 
It  is  in  the  degree  in  which  they  are  manifested  that 
his  children  acquire  and  incorporate  as  habits  in  their 
characters  his  own  methods  of  thinking  and  acting. 
Why  should  not  the  same  principle  apply  to  the  meth- 
ods in  which  the  heavenly  Father  deals  with  his  children? 
There  are  other  reasons,  too,  why  spiritual  influence 
should  be  supposed  to  be  exerted  in  the  suggestive  way 
that  has  been  indicated.  In  what  way  except  through 
the  endeavor  to  understand  suggestions,  and  to  embody 
them  in  definite  mental  and  material  forms,  can  spiri- 
tual life  develop?  Even  by  divinity  itself  could  it  be 
developed  according  to  any  other  method?  A  fully 
formulated,  dictatorial  control  relieves  a  man  of  the 
necessity  of  thinking.  A  suggestive  control  obliges  him 
to  think.  Oblige  him  to  do  this,  where  both  he  and 
others  have  liberty,  and  no  matter  how  unwisely  he 
may,  at  first,  carry  out  suggestions,  a  right  tendency 
thus  started  will  ultimately  attain  righteousness;  a 
little  leaven,  after  a  time,  after  many  generations, 
perhaps,  will  finally  leaven  the  whole  lump.  It  is 
probably  because  of  a  recognition  of  this  principle  that 
the  Apostle  Paul  in  2  Cor.  3;  6,  speaks  of  himself  and 
his  fellow  workers  as  being  "  ministers  of  the  new  testa- 
ment; not  of  the  letter  but  of  the  spirit;  for  the  letter 
killeth,  but  the  spirit  giveth  life."  This  statement, 
the  history  of  the  world  has  proved  to  be  true.  As  a 
fact,  the  letter  has  killed.  It  has  done  this  both  be- 


124        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

cause  the  theory  of  literalism,  so  conscientiously  ad- 
vocated, has  been  the  death  of  any  form  of  belief  in 
the  Scriptures  on  the  part  of  large  numbers  who — 
debarred  from  a  theory  which  might  explain — could 
not  fully  ignore  what  to  them  have  seemed  to  be  dis- 
crepancies; and  also  because  the  truth,  when  considered 
only  in  itself,  so  far  as  it  has  been  supposed  to  be  iden- 
tical with  a  form  or  a  formula  (see  page  38)  has  failed  to 
stimulate  to  activity,  and  so  to  spiritual  life.  To-day,  as 
in  the  days  of  Adam  and  Eve,  knowledge  of  good  and 
evil,  so  far  as  it  is  accompanied  by  a  desire  for  nothing 
beyond  this,  tends  to  spiritual  death.  The  curse  of 
bigotry  and  priestcraft  lies  not  alone  in  the  fact  that  by 
false  forms  and  traditions  they  make  void  the  truth,  but 
that  they  make  it  void  by  true  forms  and  traditions  so 
far  as  they  exalt  these  to  undue  importance;  so  far  as 
they  point  to  effects  logical  to  thought  or  attractive  to 
the  eye,  and  say  "Know  these,  or  do  these,  and  thou 
shalt  live."  If  the  Church  be  paradise  on  earth,  this 
latter  Eden  may  have  its  tempter  as  surely  as  the  former 
one.  When  a  man  is  told  that  he  can  attain  all  that 
mind  or  soul  can  need  through  accepting  some  dogma, 
performing  some  ceremony,  undertaking  some  service, 
what  can  be  the  result  but  to  counteract  the  tendency 
to  faith  in  that  which  is  unseen?  On  earth  the  soul 
should  walk  by  faith,  because  this  leaves  all  about  one 
an  infinite  margin  that  stimulates  desire;  and  only 
through  desire  for  surer,  purer,  better  things  can  intel- 
lect be  developed  or  spirit  sanctified. 


DIVINE  INFLUENCE  SUGGESTIVE          125 

Such  a  view  of  divine  influence  as  thus  exerted  in  the 
invisible  realm  is  the  only  one  in  harmony  with  the  same 
as  exerted  in  visible  nature.  This  gives  a  brook  rocks 
to  rise  above  and  ledges  to  dash  upon,  that,  through 
their  agency  its  volume  and  future  speed  may  be  in- 
creased. So,  also,  nature  gives  a  man  personal  foes  to 
rise  above,  and  financial  woes  to  dash  upon,  that, 
through  their  agency  his  wisdom  and  future  energy 
may  be  increased.  Amid  material  obstacles,  the  man 
who  tries  to  save  his  life  by  flying  from  the  conflicts 
granted  to  experience  may  lose  it;  but  the  man  who 
pushes  forward,  tho  he  lose  his  life,  may  find  it.  Amid 
spiritual  obstacles,  the  soul  that  has  the  faith  to  move 
is  vivified  with  health;  the  one  that  is  content  to  lie 
and  sleep  and  dream,  whoever  or  whatever  may  give 
the  authority  to  do  so,  is  only  stiffened  into  death. 
Why  should  not  the  influence,  in  this  regard,  of  the 
written  word  be  exerted  in  analogy  with  that  which  is 
exerted  by  the  unwritten  word  of  nature? 

Now  let  it  be  added,  for  the  enlightenment  of  those 
who  may  fear  that  to  answer  this  question  in  the  affirm- 
ative would  imperil  the  influence  of  the  Christian  Scrip- 
tures, that  it  has  already  been  answered  in  the  affirm- 
ative by  millions  who  are  still  exerting  not  only  a 
distinctly  Christian  but  a  Biblical  influence.  For  years, 
during  the  time  in  which  this  work  has  been  in  con- 
templation, the  author  has  been  examining  as  well  as 
he  could  the  processes  in  the  minds  of  people  of  such 
character.  He  has  been  trying,  if  possible,  to  discover, 


126        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

beneath  their  own  explanations,  which  seldom  inter- 
pret correctly  the  real  workings  of  the  mind,  what 
their  actual  beliefs  were.  As  a  result,  he  has  found 
few,  if  at  all  intelligent,  who  did  not  practically  accept 
the  text  of  Scripture  as  suggestive  rather  than  dicta- 
torial. Nevertheless,  owing  to  the  influence  upon  them 
of  doctrines  which  they  had  learned,  they  would  seldom 
acknowledge  this  fact  even  to  themselves.  Would  it 
not  be  of  benefit  to  them,  as  well  as  to  their  associates 
of  other  or  of  no  religions,  if  there  could  be  some  widely 
accepted  philosophic  principle  in  accordance  with 
which  theory  and  practise,  in  such  cases,  could  be  made 
to  coincide? 

Or,  to  consider  the  subject  in  another  light,  would 
the  acceptance  of  such  a  principle  interfere  in  the  least 
with  the  interest  or  importance  attaching  to  that  tex- 
tual study  of  the  Scriptures,  which,  for  centuries,  has 
been  the  source  of  so  much  that  has  been  stimulating 
to  the  general  thought  of  the  world,  and  been  produc- 
tive of  so  much  of  its  progress?  Would  the  acceptance 
of  this  principle  not  rather  furnish  a  well-grounded 
reason  which,  hitherto,  has  been  lacking,  for  ending 
the  prejudice,  bigotry,  bitterness,  and  persecution 
which  have  frequently  been  manifested  in  connection 
with  such  study?  As  for  the  study  itself,  it  is  a  grave 
mistake  to  suppose  that  this  could  be  stimulated  more 
by  a  belief  in  the  absolute  infallibility  of  the  letter  of 
the  text  than  by  the  other  theory.  The  most  effective 
mental  stimulus  does  not  come  from  a  feeling  of  cer- 


r'    SUGGESTIONS  CAUSE  STUDY  127 

tainty  with  reference  to  such  a  subject.  One  who  has 
been  led  to  conceive  that  the  results  of  inspiration, 
from  their  very  nature,  must  be  mainly  suggestive  has 
obtained  an  additional  inducement  for  studying  them. 
He  now  feels  impelled  to  do  so  because  he  knows  that 
no  brief,  superficial  reading  will  enable  him  to  learn  all 
that  is  in  them.  Why  should  this  suffice  to  interpret 
what  is  termed  the  written  word  of  the  Spirit  any  more 
than  a  similarly  superficial  reading  should  suffice  for 
the  unwritten  word  that  appears  in  nature?  Upon 
those,  therefore,  by  whom  the  theory  presented  in  this 
book  shall  be  accepted  we  need  not  expect  any  less  in- 
fluence to  be  exerted  by  theological  discussions  or  lead- 
ers. There  will  be,  however,  this  difference  between 
this  influence  and  that  coming  from  many  religious  dis- 
cussions and  leaders  of  the  past.  Whatever  thought 
this  influence  may  awaken  will  be  communicated  to 
others  in  the  only  form  in  which  it  is  possible  for  thought 
to  be  communicated  successfully.  No  church  that 
adopts  the  theory  that  the  truth  of  inspiration  is  sug- 
gestive can  logically  try  to  cause  men  to  accept  it  by 
the  use  either  of  physical  or  of  moral  force.  Such  a 
church  will  be  compelled  to  recognize  that  a  mind  can, 
accept  thought  only  by  thinking  it. 

Now  let  us  go  back  to  illustrate  and  amplify,  as  has 
been  promised,  what  was  meant  by  saying  that  the 
outer  representation  in  word  and  deed  of  that  which 
has  been  suggested  to  the  inner  mind,  tho  differing  in 
form,  may  be  alike  in  spirit.  Here  is  an  instance  that 


128        THE  PSYCH OL OGY  OF  IN8PIRA TION 

may  exemplify  this:  the  author  knows  of  a  case  in 
which  it  is  claimed  that,  through  influence  occultly 
exerted  upon  subconscious  processes  of  thought,  an 
attempt  was  made  at  a  distance  of  a  thousand  or  more 
miles  to  induce  a  man;  who  had  not  been  met  or  heard 
of  for  years,  to  leave  off  a  habit  which  the  one  who 
exerted  the  influence  surmised  rightly,  tho  psychically, 
to  be  undermining  his  physical  and  mental  powers. 
The  influence,  purely  argumentative  in  its  own  char- 
acter, is  said  to  have  appealed  to  the  subject — who  did 
not  become  aware  of  the  attempt  till  receiving,  days 
later,  a  letter  dated  on  the  night  in  which  it  was  made— 
in  the  form  of  a  very  startling  dream,  in  which  he  seemed 
to  see  the  figure  of  death,  to  feel  it  touch  him,  to  ex- 
perience dying,  to  awaken  in  a  beautiful  spiritual  world, 
and  there  to  be  chased  and  caught  by  a  hideous  monster 
loathsome  to  sight,  smell,  and  touch,  who  pretended  to 
be  a  bosom  friend,  and  gave  himself  the  name  of  the 
habit  from  which  it  was  sought  to  deliver  him.  Sup- 
pose this  man,  upon  awakening,  had  told  his  dream, 
and  others  had  accepted  it,  as  a  literal  account  of  an 
actual  " vision,"  they  would  have  done  what  millions 
have  done  in  the  past,  and  would  have  contributed 
their  share  to  the  formation  of  a  new  "myth."  It  is 
possible,  however,  that  some  other  man  influenced 
according  to  the  same  method,  in  order  to  cure  the 
same  habit,  would  have  had  some  other  "vision,"  and 
that  the  two  "visions,"  when  compared,  would  have 
been  found,  in  their  details,  to  be  very  different,  pos- 


ORIGIN  OF  MYTHS  129 

sibly  conflicting.  What  then?  Then  those  who  had 
taken  the  details  of  either  " vision"  to  be  that  which 
was  of  importance  in  it  would  have  been  obliged  to 
think  one  or  the  other  of  the  reports  of  the  details  to 
be  false.  Those,  however,  who  had  realized  that  both 
visions  might  be  results  upon  minds,  differently  consti- 
tuted and  cultured,  of  an  exactly  similar  suggestion, 
would  have  recognized  that  both  might  be  true  to  this 
suggestion,  and,  also,  tho  apparently  conflicting,  true  to 
one  another. 

It  seems  pertinent  to  ask  here  whether  what  has  just 
been  said  may  not  serve  somewhat  to  interpret  a  fact 
often  noticed  and  at  different  times  differently  re- 
garded. This  fact  is  the  similarity  in  import,  notwith- 
standing differences  in  detail,  of  the  representations  of 
conditions  in  the  spiritual  world  which  have  been  at 
the  basis  of  the  beliefs  and  ceremonies  of  different  re- 
ligions. For  instance,  not  only  among  the  Hebrews, 
but  in  ancient  Egypt,  Greece,  India,  and  Persia,  in 
connection  even  with  Polytheism,  there  was  a  recog- 
nition of  the  existence  of  one  Supreme  Being,  and,  in 
all  but  the  Hebrew  religion,  a  suggestion  of  a  peculiar 
relationship  between  this  Being  and  two  others,  such 
as,  in  Christianity,  has  been  developed  into  the  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity.  Again,  we  find  assigned  to  more  than 
one  of  the  chief  religious  leaders  a  virgin-birth,*  a  life 
of  holiness  on  earth,  a  death  followed  by  a  resurrection, 
and  a  devotion  ever  after,  to  the  spiritual  assistance  of 

*  See  note  on  page  198. 


130        THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

his  worshipers.  All  these  things  were  represented  as 
true  of  the  Persian  Mithras,  many  of  them  of  the  East 
Indian  Buddha,  most  of  them  of  the  Egyptian  Osiris; 
and  they  are  suggested  in  the  prophecies  of  the  return 
to  earth  of  such  national  heroes  as  Caesar  of  Rome  and 
Arthur  of  England.  Similar  ceremonies,  too,  have 
characterized  most  of  these  religions.  The  followers  of 
Mithras  observed  sacraments,  among  which  were  bap- 
tism and  the  eucharist.  Professor  Franz  Cumont's 
"Mysteres  de  Mithra"  is  said  to  show  a  photograph  of  a 
bas-relief  of  the  ceremony  of  the  latter,  in  which  bread 
in  the  form  of  a  wafer  bears  upon  it,  strangely  enough, 
the  impression  of  a  cross.  A  European  attending 
to-day  a  Buddhist  service  in  China  or  Japan  might 
imagine  himself  to  be  in  a  Catholic  church;  but  the 
resemblance  in  this  case  would  be  no  closer  than  be- 
tween a  modern  Protestant  service  and  that  of  the 
Hebrews,  or  of  the  ancient  Greek  or  Roman  Stoics,  or 
even  of  the  present  Mohammedans.  Nor  in  listening 
to  the  exhortations  in  these  religious  gatherings  would 
the  differences  noticed  be  as  great  as  is  sometimes 
imagined.  In  almost  all  of  these  religions  there  is,  as 
in  the  Christian,  an  insistence  upon  the  necessity  of 
faith,  fidelity,  chastity,  honesty,  and  holiness.  Once 
in  visiting  a  class-room  in  an  American  Congregational- 
ist  Missionary  College  in  Japan,  the  author  found  that 
they  were  studying  ethics,  and  that  their  text-book 
was  one  of  the  works  of  Confucius.  As  is  well-known, 
the  Christians  of  the  third  and  fourth  centuries  used 


SIMILARITY  IN  RELIGIONS  131 

to  attribute  everything  in  the  heathen  religions  un- 
mistakably resembling  things  in  their  own  to  the 
machinations  of  the  devil,  intended,  through  imitation, 
to  deceive  the  elect,  and  capture  them  for  his  hostile 
camp.  The  same  conclusion  was  reached  by  the 
Spanish  fathers  who  first  came  to  South  America,  and 
found  among  the  Peruvians  not  only  sacrificial  cere- 
monies resembling  those  of  the  ancient  Hebrews,  but 
the  distribution  of  bread  and  wine,  confession,  penance, 
and  monasticism,  which  they  had  supposed  to  be 
peculiar  to  Christianity.  Within  the  last  hundred 
years,  in  view  of  what  has  been  learned  not  only  of  the 
similarity  between  the  rites  of  all  the  higher  religions, 
but  of  the  pure  character  of  most  of  the  teachings  in 
them  all,  a  more  charitable  theory  has  prevailed.  This 
may  be  said  to  be  exprest  in  the  passage  of  the 
Bible  chosen  as  an  opening  text  by  the  late  Dean 
Trench  in  his  "Hulsean  Lectures"  on  this  subject, 
namely,  "The  desire  of  all  nations  shall  come"  (Hag. 
2;  7).  According  to  this  theory,  all  of  these  religions — 
the  higher  ones,  at  least — owe  their  origin  to  the  inborn 
rather  than  inspired  struggle  of  man  after  truth,  and 
all  point  to  Christianity,  in  which  is  found  a  fulfilment 
of  his  inborn  desire  for  an  inspired  revelation.  It 
seems  as  if  a  broader  interpretation  than  this  might  be 
acceptable  in  the  near  future.  If  no  conditions  in  the 
spiritual  world  can  ever  be  communicated  to  men  ex- 
cept through  the  use  of  material  symbols  or  forms,  and 
if  these  can  never  represent  the  conditions  fully  or 


132        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

adequately,  nor  to  minds,  differently  constituted  or 
cultured,  in  an  exactly  similar  way,  then  different 
symbols  or  forms  may  be  used,  in  different  nations,  for 
the  purpose  of  expressing  exactly  the  same  truth  or 
principle,  and  not  only  in  Christianity,  but  in  all  these 
nations,  they  may  be  inspired. 

When  the  future  philosophic  theologian  comes  to  take 
in  this  conception,  he  will  no  longer  be  satisfied  to  study 
the  sacred  text  of  only  his  own  form  of  religion,  much 
less  that  of  some  commentator  like  Thomas  Aquinas 
or  John  Calvin.  He  will  study  the  text  of  all  the  higher 
religions,  trying  to  find  the  similar  import  represented 
through  their  different  legends,  and  the  similar  principle 
expounded  in  their  not  greatly  differing  precepts.  Such 
an  attitude  of  mind  will  almost  infinitely  elevate  his 
aims  and  widen  his  horizon.  It  will  cause  him  to 
search  for  the  absolute,  eternal,  and  infinite  truth,  and 
not  merely,  as,  too  frequently  is  the  case  now,  for  that 
which  can  be  no  more  than  relative  to  his  own  surround- 
ings and  purposes,  if  not  to  his  own  interests  as  the 
hired  advocate  of  some  institution  endowed  for  the 
purpose  of  perpetuating  current  opinions  irrespective 
of  the  influence  which  should  naturally  be  exerted  upon 
all  opinions  by  advancing  thought  and  knowledge. 
Then,  too,  those  who  are  guided  by  such  a  theologian 
will  come  to  have  a  philosophic  reason  for  believing  in 
the  universal  spiritual  fatherhood  of  God  and  in  the 
spiritual  brotherhood  of  man.  They  will  come  also  to 
have  a  reasonable  hope  that  the  spiritual  aspirations  of 


SIMILARITY  IN  RELIGIONS  133 

mankind,  fulfilled,  as  they  undoubtedly  have  been— 
tho,  possibly,  not  exclusively — in  the  ideal  presented 
in  the  career  of  the  historic  prophet  of  Judea,  will  unite 
in  such  a  way  as  to  make  literally  true  the  prophecy 
that  "all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world"  shall  "become 
the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ77  (Rev. 
11;  15). 


CHAPTER  VI 
SIGNIFICANCE  AND  FORM  IN  SUGGESTED  TRUTH 

A  Conception  Impressing  Our  Minds  Is  Not  Identical  with  a  Word 
Expressing  It— The  Latter  Is  a  Result  of  Materializing  the  Con- 
ception—  Use  of  Materialized  Conceptions  by  Man  and  by  the 
Creator — Universal  Recognition  of  This  Use — Appropriateness  of 
Its  Use  in  Inspiration  and  Revelation— How  This  Fact  Modifies 
Certain  Current  Conceptions — Differences  Between  Scientific  and 
Religious  Truth— Application  to  Statements  in  the  Bible— Render- 
ing These  Conformable  to  Reason — And  to  Philanthropy — Degrees 
of  the  Credibility  of  the  Influence  Occultly  Exerted  Through  the 
Subconscious— Depends  Upon  the  Truthfulness  of  the  Suggestion 
Given  It  as  a  Premise — The  Truthfulness  of  This  Suggestion  and  of 
Its  Results  Must  be  Determined  by  the  Action  of  Some  Conscious 
Mind— Whose  Conscious  Mind  This  Is— It  Is  a  Mind  Influenced  by 
Heredity  and  Environment— This  Explains  the  Development  of  the 
Truth  as  Revealed  in  the  Bible— The  Explanation  Accords  with 
Biblical  Statements— With  General  Opinion— This  Conception  Does 
Not  Render  Biblical  Truth  Less  Determinant. 

The  thoughts  brought  out  in  the  preceding  chapter 
seem  to  carry  with  them  the  conclusion  that,  when  nor- 
mally exprest,  the  utterances  of  a  mind  supposed  to 
be  inspired,  because  influenced  from  within  irrespect- 
ive of  appeals  through  eyes  and  ears,  are  illustrative 
rather  than  exactly  reproductive  of  that  which  has  im- 
prest it.  This  conclusion  will  become  stronger  the  more 
critically  we  examine  the  subject.  We  shall  find,  too, 
that  the  principle  is  applicable  to  the  utterances  even 
of  such  conceptions  as  are  only  indirectly  traceable  to 
influences  exerted  upon  the  inner  sphere  of  the  mind. 
All  utterances,  as  made  by  men,  assume  the  forms  of 


MEANINGS  OF  WORDS  135 

words.  But  what  are  words?  They  are  not  repro- 
ductions of  anything  in  the  mind;  they  are  merely 
symbols  of  something  there.  Moreover,  they  are 
symbols  which,  tho  used  by  several  men  in  the  same 
sense,  by  no  means  indicate  necessarily  that  these  men 
are  representing  through  them  the  same  conception. 
For  instance,  take  such  a  word  as  " thirst"  or  " water." 
A  dog,  when  he  wants  a  drink,  will  run  to  and  from  a 
pail  in  which  he  has  been  accustomed  to  see  water. 
He  evidently  has  in  mind  a  vision  of  this  water,  and  not 
the  word  " water."  He  never  uses  the  word,  and 
probably,  therefore,  does  not  think  of  it.  So  with  a 
child  who  can  not  talk,  or  a  savage  whose  vocabulary 
is  limited.  Grown  people  who  understand  language 
use  the  word,  and,  possibly,  think  of  it.  But,  besides 
this,  they  think  of  something  else.  Just  as  clearly  as 
the  dog  thinks  of  a  pail,  a  child  of  a  tumbler,  or  a 
savage  of  a  river,  they  may  think,  according  to  the 
place  in  which  each  has  been  accustomed  to  sate  his 
thirst,  of  a  spring,  a  water-pitcher,  or  a  public  bar.  This 
is  the  same  as  to  say  that  the  same  general  impression 
or  conception  may  appeal  to  the  mind  in  the  form  of  a 
different  image,  and,  if  this  image  were  carefully  de- 
scribed in  language,  would  be  exprest  to  others  in  a 
different  word.  Add  to  this  now  the  fact  that  thought 
in  the  mind  is  never  at  rest;  that  one  thought  is  always 
passing  into  other  thoughts;  that  one  image  is  always 
connecting  itself  with  other  images;  and  we  must  con- 
clude that  often  out  of  the  same  psychic  impression 


136        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

revealing  itself  definitely  as  a  single  image,  different 
minds  may  construct,  by  way  of  accretion,  whole  series 
of  imaginative  fabrics  that  in  form  are  different  from 
one  another. 

Now  notice  that  the  first  image,  and,  of  course,  all 
the  later  images,  are  results  of  each  mind's  appropri- 
ating, for  its  purpose,  objects  or  conditions  that  have 
been  perceived  in  material  nature.  To  each  of  these 
images  it  may  give  a  name,  which  name  develops  into 
what  we  term  a  word.  Any  one  will  recognize  this  who 
knows  about  the  origin  of  words.  The  word  is,  for 
instance,  comes  through  the  German  ist,  the  Latin  est, 
and  the  Greek  esti,  from  the  old  Sanskrit  word  as  in- 
dicating the  act  of  breathing;  and  because  whoever 
breathes  exists,  it  means  to  exist.  The  Greek  word  for 
spirit  meant  originally  breath;  and  as  the  breath,  tho 
unseen,  evidently  keeps  the  body  alive,  spirit  came  to 
mean  the  unseen  principle  of  life,  that  without  which, 
when  it  departs,  the  body  dies.  So  on  through  large 
numbers  of  words  till  we  come  to  those  of  modern 
origin  like  understanding,  uprightness,  and  pastime.  It 
may  be  said,  therefore,  that,  altho  the  first  psychic 
impression  produced  on  the  mind  may  be  spiritual, 
the  moment  this  impression  assumes  definite  form  and 
becomes  an  image,  either  in  the  mind's  conception  or 
as  represented  in  a  picturesque  word,  and  still  more 
as  this  image  connects  itself  with  other  images,  the 
results  become  more  or  less  materialized  in  character. 
In  this  form,  tho  occasioned  by  spiritual  influence 


EXPRESSION  MATERIAL  IN  FORM         137 

and  representing  it,  they  can  not  be  said  to  be  spiritual 
in  themselves.  They  are  merely  illustrations  drawn 
from  the  material  world  of  something  spiritual,  which 
otherwise  could  not  be  communicated  to  us  through 
the  use  of  eyes  or  ears.  We  are  not  justified,  there- 
fore, in  claiming  that  these  illustrations  contain  literal 
truth.  Nor  again  are  we  justified  in  claiming  that  they 
contain  no  truth,  or  that  they  are  not  worthy  of  the 
most  scrupulous  study  undertaken  in  order  to  ascertain 
what  this  truth  is. 

The  principle  involved  in  these  statements  has  come 
to  be  virtually  recognized  by  all  thinkers.  They  ac- 
knowledge that,  at  every  stage  of  intellection,  a  man 
is  forced  to  use  the  forms  of  the  material  world  in  order 
to  represent  his  mental  processes.  Otherwise  they 
could  not  be  perceived  clearly  nor  understood  intel- 
ligently even  by  himself,  and  much  less  by  others  to 
whom  he  wishes  to  communicate  them.  Take  any  one 
of  the  more  important  of  the  emotions  that  actuate  us 
and  we  shall  recognize  this  fact.  Take  that  experience 
in  some  of  the  manifestations  of  which  religious  people 
believe  that  a  man  most  resembles  the  Unseen  One. 
Think  how  love,  which  is  begotten  often  in  a  single 
glance,  and  is  matured  in  a  single  thrill,  gives  vent  to 
its  invisible  intensity.  How  infinite  in  range  and  in 
variety  are  those  material  forms  of  earth  and  air  and 
fire  and  water  which  are  used  by  man  as  figures  through 
which  to  represent  the  emotion  within  him !  What  ex- 
tended tho  sweet  tales,  what  endless  repetitions  of 


138        THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

comparisons  from  hills  and  valleys,  streams  and  oceans, 
flowers  and  clouds,  are  made  to  revolve  about  that  soul 
which,  through  the  use  of  them  endeavors  to  picture 
in  poetry  spiritual  conditions  and  relations  which 
would  remain  unrevealed  but  for  the  possibility  of 
being  thus  indirectly  symbolized!  Nor  is  it  man  alone 
who  is  obliged  to  use  the  forms  of  material  nature  in 
order  to  reveal  the  workings  of  his  spirit.  He  himself 
does  this  only,  as  it  were,  by  way  of  imitation;  only 
because  he  partakes  of  the  nature  and  therefore  must 
follow  the  methods  of  the  Creative  Spirit  to  which 
all  men  and  all  material  nature  owe  their  origin.  If 
what  has  been  said  be  true  of  the  expression  of  human 
love,  why  should  not  the  Great  Heart  whose  calm  beat- 
ing works  the  pulses  of  the  universe  express  divine  love 
through  similar  processes  evolving  infinitely  and  eter- 
nally into  forms  not  ideal  and  verbal,  but  real  and 
tangible — in  fact,  into  forms  which  we  term  those  of 
nature? 

Do  we  not  all,  subtly,  at  least,  believe  in  the  two 
statements  just  made?  Do  we  not  believe  that  ma- 
terial nature  furnishes  the  representative  implements 
through  which  a  man  creates  language,  and  that  it 
furnishes  also  the  actual  implements  through  which 
the  Creative  Spirit  produces  a  language  speaking, 
tho  in  a  less  articulate  and  distinct  way,  to  our 
thoughts  and  emotions?  Have  not  all  who  can  under- 
stand this  passage  of  Wordsworth  accepted  it  as  vir- 
tually true? 


EXPRESSION  MATERIAL  IN  FORM         139 

"  I  have  learned 

To  look  on  nature,  not  as  in  the  hour 
Of  thoughtless  youth  ;  but  hearing  oftentimes 
The  still,  sad  music  of  humanity. 

"   .  .  .  And  I  have  felt 
A  presence  that  disturbs  me  with  the  joy 
Of  elevated  thoughts  ;  a  sense  sublime 
Of  something  far  more  deeply  interfused, 
Whose  dwelling  is  the  light  of  setting  suns, 
And  the  round  ocean,  and  the  living  air, 
And  the  blue  sky,  and  in  the  mind  of  man  : 
A  motion  and  a  spirit,  that  impels 
All  thinking  things,  all  objects  of  all  thought, 
And  rolls  through  all  things." 

Lines  Composed  a  few  Miles  above  Tintern  AJbbey. 

But  now,  if  in  ordinary  words,  all  men,  as  a  rule,  ex- 
press themselves  by  appropriating  material  forms  of 
nature  through  which  to  represent  their  thoughts,  why 
should  not  an  inspired  man  do  the  same?  And  if  the 
Divine  Spirit  find  expression  in  the  "unwritten  word7' 
through  material  forms,  why  should  not  the  same,  or 
something  in  analogy  with  the  same,  be  used  in  the 
methods  of  expression  in  the  " written  word?"  This 
argument  from  analogy  certainly  seems  approximately 
rational.  Let  us  notice  now  how  it  applies  to  the  in- 
terpretation of  what  are  termed  inspired  Scriptures. 

Here,  at  the  outset,  one  is  compelled  to  admit  that  a 
logical  conclusion  from  the  thoughts  that  have  so  far 
been  presented  will  not  permit  all  of  the  readers  of  this 
volume  to  retain  without  modification  the  opinions 
with  reference  to  our  subject  which  up  to  this  time 
they  have  not  only  held  but  cherished.  This  objection, 
however,  is  not  insuperable.  The  scientific,  artistic, 


140        THE  PSYCIIOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

or  literary  method  of  interpretation  applied  to  that 
which  exerts  a  religious  influence  need  not  necessarily 
destroy  it.  In  such  a  case,  to  recognize  that  this  in- 
fluence can  affect  the  mind  only  indirectly  through 
understanding,  emotion,  or  imagination  might  be  a 
help  rather  than  a  hindrance.  To  go  immediately  to 
the  most  indisputable  source  of  inspiration  of  which  we 
know,  take  the  utterances  of  that  Master  who  spake 
as  " never  man  spake"  (John  7;  46).  So  far  were 
his  words  from  being  like  those  of  a  philosopher  formu- 
lating a  system,  or  of  a  leader  dictating  action,  that 
hardly  two  associations  of  men  since  his  time  have  been 
completely  agreed  as  to  exactly  what  body  of  belief  or 
visible  organization  most  accurately  represents  Chris- 
tianity as  he  proclaimed  it,  his  apparent  theory  being 
that,  if  men  came  to  take  into  their  natures,  as  a  living 
force,  the  inspiration  derived  from  the  suggestions  that 
he  gave  them — from  such  a  suggestion,  for  instance, 
as  that  they  were  sons  of  God — then  that,  both  as  in- 
dividuals and  as  members  of  his  corporate  church,  they 
could  safely  be  left,  in  applying  the  suggestion,  to  exer- 
cise the  " liberty"  with  which  he  had  made  them  "free" 
(Gal.  5;  1).  Now  if  this  were  true  of  the  words  of 
Jesus,  why  should  it  not  be  true  of  the  words  of  other 
inspired  prophets?  Have  any  of  them  been  more  truly 
inspired  than  he  was? 

This  argument  from  example  may  be  confirmed  by 
one  based  upon  the  nature  of  the  conception  which  in 
religion  is  communicated.  Significance  obtained,  as 


SCIENTIFIC  AND  RELIGIOUS  TRUTH       141 

it  mainly  is  in  science  and  largely  is  in  art,  through  the 
conscious  action  of  the  mind,  may  be  imparted  with 
jdefiniteness  and  accuracy  to  an  extent  not  true  of  that 
which  has  been  obtained  mainly  or  wholly  through  sub- 
conscious action.  When  we  speak  of  scientific  truth 
as  applied  to  a  statement,  we  mean  something  that 
formulates  the  mind's  conscious  knowledge  of  every 
essential  detail  entering  into  the  general  result;  we 
mean  something  that  manifests  no  defective  work  of 
observation  or  of  memory.  When  we  speak  of  religious 
or  even  of  artistic  truth,  of  truth  that  is  either  inspira- 
tional or  imaginative,  it  is  often  impossible  that  we 
should  mean  this;  for  we  are  speaking  of  something 
that  involves  certain  contributions  from  the  mind's 
hidden  sphere  of  action,  and  because  this  reveals  to  us 
no  form  that  can  be  perceived  or  even  distinctly  con- 
ceived, they  can  not  be  formulated.  They  can  be- 
merely  represented  or  suggested.  Take  the  following: 

Why,  man,  he  doth  bestride  the  narrow  world, 
Like  a  Colossus  ;  and  we  petty  men 
Walk  under  his  huge  legs,  and  peep  about 
To  find  ourselves  dishonorable  graves. 

Julius  Caesar ,  1.,  £:  Shakespeare. 

Scientifically  considered,  hardly  one  word  of  this  is  true. 
No  man  who  ever  lived  could  bestride  the  world  like  a 
Colossus,  or  have  any  grown  man  not  a  dwarf  walk 
under  his  legs.  Yet  the  statement  is  not  false,  because 
the  words  mean  merely  that  certain  spiritual  or  mental 
relations  existing  between  the  man  and  us,  which  rela- 


142        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

tions  can  not  be  seen,  are  the  same  as  those  that  might 
exist  between  the  height  that  might  be  supposed  to  be 
seen  in  a  Colossus  and  in  a  petty  man,  and  that,  there- 
fore, these  forms  that  might  be  seen  can  suggest  this 
unseen  relationship.  Or  take  another  illustration: 

True  hope  is  swift,  and  flies  with  swallow's  wings, 
Kings  it  makes  gods,  and  meaner  creatures  kings. 

Richard  III,  v.  2:  Shakespeare. 

This  again  is  not  literally  or  scientifically  true,  but  only 
by  way  of  suggestion.  Hope  never  had  swallows'  wings ; 
and  it  takes  a  good  deal  more  than  it  to  make  kings 
gods,  or  meaner  creatures  kings. 

If  a  principle  like  this  apply  to  the  phraseology  of  art, 
it  must  apply  still  more  to  that  of  religion.  In  the 
Bible,  God  is  called  sometimes  a  sovereign  whose  actions 
are  limited  by  only  his  own  will  (Dan.  4;  35),  and  some- 
times a  father  whose  actions  are  limited  by  the  needs 
and  wishes  of  his  children  (Ps.  103;  13;  Matt.  7;  11); 
the  Christ  is  called  sometimes  the  only  son  of  God 
(John  3;  18),  and  sometimes  the  first  born  among 
many  brethren  (Rom.  8;  29);  and  Abraham  is  called 
sometimes  the  father  of  the  Israelitish  race  (Is.  41;  8), 
and  sometimes  of  those  who  are  not  members  of  that 
race  (Rom.  14;  16).  Taken  as  illustrations  used  to 
suggest  relationships  in  an  unseen  spiritual  world, 
through  what  we  can  see  and  know  of  the  relationships 
of  king,  father,  son,  brother,  or  children  in  a  material 
world,  these  expressions  may  prove  exceedingly  helpful ; 
but  taken  as  statements  of  literal  fact,  they  are  contra- 


BIBLICAL  TERMS  SUGGESTIVE  143 

dictory;  and  taken  as  arguments  to  prove  exact  con- 
ditions in  the  spiritual  world,  they  may  be  very  mis- 
leading. No  better  proof  of  this  fact  can  be  afforded 
than  by  the  many  books  and  sermons  written  by  Cal- 
vinists  to  show  that  some  doctrine  like  that  of  "  elec- 
tion," " imputed  righteousness/'  or  " eternal  generation" 
does  not  involve  the  irrational  or  erroneous  conclu- 
sions that  many  have  supposed,  but  has  been  mis- 
understood. Of  course,  it  has  been  misunderstood; 
but  might  not  a  more  thorough  remedy  for  the  mis- 
understanding be  found  by  tracing  it  back  to  the  ex- 
treme and  erroneous  literalism  in  which  it  first  took 
rise.  In  order  to  show  due  regard  or  reverence  for 
spiritual  relationships  which  can  only  be  figured  or 
symbolized  through  reference  to  conditions  in  the  ma- 
terial world,  it  is  not  necessary  to  ignore  practically, 
or  to  deny,  the  plain  statement  in  the  Scriptures  that 
"eye  hath  not  seen  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered 
into  the  heart  of  man  the  things  which  God  hath  pre- 
pared" (1  Cor.  2;  9).  "My  thoughts  are  not  your 
thoughts.  For  as  the  heavens  are  higher  than  the 
earth,  so  are  my  ways  higher  than  your  ways  and  my 
thoughts  than  your  thoughts"  (Is.  55;  8,  9);  "Un- 
searchable are  his  judgments,  and  his  ways  past  find- 
ing out"  (Rom.  11;  33). 

A  similar  principle  applies  to  many  Biblical  expres- 
sions. The  truth  in  them  would  often  commend  itself 
to  us  much  more  effectively  could  we  perceive  that  they 
need  not  be  interpreted  literally.  When,  for  instance, 


144        THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA. TION 

we  are  informed  that  "The  Lord  spake  unto  Moses," 
or  unto  some  other  prophet,  and  are  told  the  words 
spoken,  why  is  it  necessary  for  us  to  suppose  that  the 
term  spake  refers  to  words  heard?  Why  need  it  indi- 
cate more  than  an  influence  exerted  in  an  unseen, 
spiritual  sphere  suggestive  of  that  which,  in  the  material 
sphere,  would  be  exerted  through  the  use  of  language? 
We  are  acquainted  with  this  method  of  understanding 
a  statement,  even  when  applied  to  a  resemblance  in 
conditions  that  are  both  material.  A  mother  explains 
to  her  child  that  the  mother-bird  pushes  the  young 
birds  out  of  her  nest  and  tells  them  to  fly;  or  she  ex- 
plains her  feelings,  when  the  child  does  wrong,  by  say- 
ing that  she  is  angry.  In  both  cases,  she  says  what, 
scientifically  considered,  is  false ;  yet  it  is  strictly  true- 
in  spirit,  as  we  say.  And  how  else  can  we  suppose  the 
Scriptures  to  be  true?  If  thus  interpreted — i.e.,  con- 
sidered to  be  true  merely  in  spirit — we  can  explain  the 
most  of  their  apparent  discrepancies.  We  can  explain 
why,  for  instance,  we  are  told  in  Ex.  11;  1,  2,  that,  just 
before  the  Israelites  were  to  leave  Egypt  forever,  "The 
Lord  said  unto  Moses  .  .  .  Speak  now  in  the  ears  of 
the  people,  and  let  every  man  borrow  of  his  neighbor 
and  every  woman  of  her  neighbor,  jewels  of  silver  and 
jewels  of  gold";  and  are  also  told  in  Ex.  12;  35,  that 
"the  children  of  Israel  did  according  to  the  words  of 
Moses,  and  they  borrowed,"  etc.  If  scientific  accuracy 
had  been  the  object  here,  we  should  have  been  informed 
in  verse  35  that  the  Lord  originated  the  idea.  Fortu- 


LITERALISM  AND  PHILANTHROPY        145 

nately,  we  are  not  so  informed.  For  this  reason, 
when  we  come  to  consider  the  discrepancy  indicated  be- 
tween what  we  conceive  to  be  the  character  of  God  and 
the  advice  to  do  evil  that  good  may  come,  we  may  con- 
clude that  these  passages,  interpreted  in  a  literary  and 
not  a  literal  sense,  mean  no  more  than  that  Moses  was 
inspirationally  imprest  with  the  conception  that  he 
should  lead  the  people  out  of  Egypt,  and  obtain  funds 
for  the  purpose  in  the  best  way  that  he  could,  in  which 
circumstances  the  natural  promptings  of  a  descendant 
of  Jacob  as  well  as  of  an  enslaved  race  impelled  him  into 
advising  the  subterfuge  of  the  false  pretense  of  borrow- 
ing. So  with  the  words  of  David  and  the  works  of 
Joshua.  The  accounts  of  these  picture  to  us  minds 
inspirationally  imprest  with  the  importance  of  sup- 
pressing and  ending  unrighteousness  and  idolatry.  If 
these  minds  carry  out  the  despotic  and  military  prompt- 
ings of  their  age,  by  writing  imprecatory  psalms  and 
committing  wholesale  slaughter,  such  manifestations, 
tho  suggesting  the  feelings  and  methods  of  the  Lord, 
do  not  necessarily  express  them  with  scientific  accuracy. 
Read  Ps.  109;  1-29  and  Joshua  8;  26,  27:  10;  40  and 
11;  20. 

When  we  think  of  all  the  iniquity  and  cruelty  in 
family,  society,  and  state  which  have  resulted  from  the 
extreme  literalism  of  the  officials  of  ecclesiastical  or- 
ganizations, we  can  not  avoid  feeling  that  the  interpre- 
tations of  the  Scriptures  rendered  possible  by  conceiv- 
ing of  all  inspired  expressions  as  mainly  suggestive, 


146       THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

may  be  as  much  in  the  interest  of  philanthropy  as  of 
philosophy.  Nevertheless,  it  is  not  supposed  that  all 
will  accept  these  methods  of  interpretation.  Some  are 
so  constituted  that  they  imagine  that  inspired  words 
can  not  be  true  unless  they  are  true  literally.  There 
are  some,  too,  who  think  the  same  of  poetry.  But,  as 
was  intimated  a  moment  ago,  they  are  not  the  ones  who 
understand  poetry  the  best  or  get  the  most  truth  out 
of  it. 

Before  passing  on  now  to  formulate  certain  principles 
in  accordance  with  which  what  has  been  said  may  be 
practically  applied  to  the  interpretation  of  the  Christian 
Scriptures,  let  us,  in  order  to  approach  the  subject  in 
as  broad  and  general  a  way  as  possible,  inquire  first  into 
the  degrees  of  credibility  to  be  given  to  any  communi- 
cations such  as — are  not  supposed  to  be,  but,  pre- 
sumably— have  been  proved  to  be  given  through  some 
occult  influence,  or,  at  least,  some  influence  exerted 
over  the  inner  sphere  of  the  mind.  Let  us  ask  how  far 
in  themselves,  simply  because  of  the  methods  they  in- 
volve, such  communications  may  be  considered  worthy 
of  credence.  To  answer  the  question  in  a  manner  as 
nearly  scientific  as  possible,  let  us  go  back  to  hypnotism 
again.  Let  us  ask  whether  a  man,  when  receiving  and 
developing  a  hypnotic  suggestion,  is  necessarily  dealing 
with  the  truth?  There  is  no  need  of  emphasizing  the 
importance  of  this  question.  It  is  relevant  to  all  the 
revelations  of  not  only  what  are  termed  heathen  re- 
ligions, but  even  of  some  of  the  non-heathen.  Among 


UNTRUE  OCCULT  COMMUNICATIONS      147 

certain  adherents  of  these,  as  we  know,  any  actual 
proof  that  one  has  been  actuated  to  deeds  or  utterances 
through  some  inner  or  occult  influence  is  considered  a 
proof  also  of  the  supernatural  trustworthiness  of  every- 
thing that,  when  so  influenced,  he  may  do  or  say.  Is 
there  any  scientific  justification  for  this  belief?  Only 
one  answer  to  this  question  accords  with  an  intelligent 
understanding  of  the  subject.  That  answer  is,  "None 
whatever." 

Those  acquainted  with  the  phenomena  of  hypnotism, 
and,  therefore,  with  the  operations  of  subconsciousness 
as  disclosed — tho  not  originated — by  hypnotic  in- 
fluences, believe  themselves  to  have  reasons  for  holding 
that  its  processes  of  memory  and  logic  are  developed 
with  well-nigh  flawless  consistency.  When,  however, 
from  the  method  of  development,  they  turn  to  examine 
the  germ  that  is  thus  developed,  they  find  that  the 
same  mind,  when  given  suggestions  entirely  antago- 
nistic in  meaning,  will  develop  each  of  them  with  equal 
consistency.  But  if  this  be  so,  why  does  it  not  follow 
that,  in  case  the  suggestion  be  untrue,  and  the  premise 
therefore  false,  the  entire  result  of  the  subconscious 
mental  action  will  be  false?  This  certainly  does  follow. 
A  hypnotized  man,  if  told  that  he  is  a  bird,  will  act  in 
one  way;  then,  if  told  immediately  afterward  that  he 
is  a  fish,  he  will  act  in  another  way,  and  each  way  will 
conform  to  his  own  conceptions  of  the  mode  of  proce- 
dure of  the  being  suggested.  An  insane  man  who  sup- 
poses himself  to  be  suffering  from  an  injury  inflicted 


148       THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

by  a  friend,  or  to  be  a  king  or  an  animal,  acts  exactly 
as  he  might  act  had  he  been  permanently  hypnotized. 
He  can  often  remember  and  argue  certain  points  with 
great  accuracy,  but  he  applies  his  ability  to  the  devel- 
opment of  a  false  premise. 

Now  how,  in  a  case  of  hypnotism  or  insanity,  can  the 
truth  or  falsity  of  the  premise  which  subconscious 
mentality  is  developing  be  determined?  How  but  by 
some  action  of  conscious  mentality.  In  the  hypnotized, 
this,  though  seemingly  dormant,  is  never,  probably, 
completely  so.  It  usually  does  not  manifest  itself  when 
the  suggestion  can  be  carried  out  passively  or  play- 
fully, as  in  results  of  mere  speculation  and  fancy.  But 
when  it  comes  to  practical  results  of  serious  action, 
then  the  conscious  mind,  as  if  realizing  that  it  should 
prevent  danger  to  itself,  is  almost  certain,  we  are  told, 
to  assert  itself;  then,  a  modest  nature  will  not  act  im- 
modestly; an  innocent  nature  will  not  incur  guilt. 
Whether  we  consider  the  theory  or  the  practise  of 
hypnotism,  therefore,  some  influence  from  a  conscious 
mind,  as  already  indicated  elsewhere,  seems  required  in 
order  to  prevent  the  misguidance  of  falsehood.  This 
mind  may  be  that  of  the  patient  himself,  if  it  can  be 
partly  or  fully  restored  to  its  normal  condition.  Other- 
wise, the  mind  of  another  or  of  others  surrounding  the 
patient  must  decide  upon  the  truthfulness  of  the 
premise  submitted.  Evidently  so  far  as  concerns  the 
patient  himself,  whether  hypnotized  or  insane,  it  is 
because,  for  the  time  being,  his  consciousness  is  not 


INSPIRATION  AND  INTELLIGENCE         149 

working,  that  he  is  a  victim  of  groundless  imaginings. 
So  much  with  reference  to  the  hypnotic  patient.  How 
is  it,  now,  with  reference  to  one  who  is  in  a  trance? 
Is  not  his  consciousness,  too,  in  a  condition  in  which 
it  is  not  working?  And  if  so,  what  inference  must  we 
draw?  Before  answering  this  question  let  us  recall 
that  many  attribute  all  inspiration  to  trance-conditions 
or  to  hypnotic  conditions,  which,  in  many  of  their  mani- 
festations, can  not  be  distinguished  from  trance-con- 
ditions. In  addition  to  this,  let  us  also  recall  that  in 
certain  countries,  as  in  India  and  in  parts  of  Southern 
Europe,  the  insane  or  idiotic,  for  the  very  reason  that 
they  manifest  few  results  of  conscious  intellection,  are 
supposed  to  be  peculiarly  gifted  in  the  direction  of  in- 
spiration; and  also  that,  in  some  philosophic  books, 
insanity  is  allied  to  the  subconscious  intellection  which 
is  manifested  in  the  artistic  inspiration  of  genius.  What, 
upon  recalling  all  these  facts,  are  we  to  conclude? 
Undoubtedly,  that  insanity,  hypnotism,  trance-condi- 
tions, and  artistic  and  religious  inspiration,  all  involve 
to  some  extent,  the  same  form  of  mental  action.  But 
we  need  not  go  beyond  this,  and  conclude  that  all  the 
results  of  this  form  of  mental  action  are  similarly  con- 
ditioned or  are  equally  untrustworthy.  The  exact 
fact  seems  to  be  that  their  trustworthiness  in  each  case 
depends  upon  the  premise  or  suggestion  which  forms 
the  germ  from  which  the  conscious  result  of  the  sub- 
conscious process  is  developed — which,  by  the  way,  is 
a  very  strong  argument,  as  the  merest  tyro  in  logic  can 


150        THE  PSYCHO L OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

recognize,  for  the  importance  of  having  external  re- 
ligious standards  of  belief  conform  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible to  such  as  are  absolutely  true.  To  the  insane, 
surrounding  circumstances  acting  upon  diseased  nerves, 
give  the  suggestion.  To  the  hypnotized,  the  hypno- 
tizer  gives  it.  To  the  one  in  a  trance,  the  persons  con- 
sulting him — i.e.,  for  whom  he  goes  into  the  trance- 
may  give  it.  Even  tho  consciously  they  may  give 
nothing,  nevertheless  they  may  give  it  in  the  form 
of  general  impressions,  conveyed  from  their  subcon- 
scious mental  tendencies.  It  is  this  fact,  indeed,  that 
affords  whatever  warrant  there  may  be  for  the  claim 
of  the  spiritists  that  those  who  consult  a  " medium" 
with  the  intention  of  rinding  fraud  are  almost  certain 
to  find  it.  In  such  cases  the  " medium"  is  the  one 
hypnotized,  and  they  are  the  hypnotizers  who  furnish 
the  suggestion.  In  fulfilment  of  the  same  principle, 
those  believing  strongly  in  Catholicism  usually  hear, 
when  consulting  a  clairvoyant,  no  doctrines  radically 
inconsistent  with  their  general  belief;  or  if  they  be 
Quakers,  none  radically  inconsistent  with  the  opinions 
of  Penn;*  or,  if  they  have  a  different  experience 
this  fact  usually  furnishes  good  evidence,  that,  at 

*This  is  not  to  say  that  they  may  not  occasionally  hear  statements  which 
they  will  find  hard  to  reconcile  with  their  beliefs:  but  only  that,  if  so,  they  will 
be  left  to  recognize  the  discrepancy  for  themselves.  As  bearing  upon  this  gen- 
eral subject,  Alfred  Russel  Wallace  in  his  "Miracles  and  Modern  Spiritualism," 
pages  218  to  220,  says  that  conflicting  sectarian  dogmas  are  sometimes  pro- 
claimed through  the  agency  of  "mediums";  but  he  claims  that  these  are  never 
given  except  avowedly  as  the  opinions  of  some  individual  spirit,  and  that,  not- 
withstanding them,  the  legitimate  inferences  concerning  the  future  life  so  far  as 
it  is  actually  described  are  in  all  cases,  as  coming  from  all  "mediums,"  virtually 
the  same. 


INSPIRATION  AND  INTELLIGENCE         151 

heart,  they  themselves  are  not  in  sympathy  with 
their  creed.  Of  course  they  may  be  to  blame  for 
this,  but  in  the  degree  in  which  the  creed  is  erroneous 
they  must  be  commended;  for  the  facts  show  that  they 
are  more  in  sympathy  with  truth  in  general  than  with 
any  particular  form  in  which  they  have  hitherto  received 
it.  Indeed,  in  case  a  mind  has  ever  been  wrongly  in- 
structed, it  is  only  in  the  degree  in  which  it  is  abso- 
lutely unbiased  that  it  can  obtain  from  one  in  a  trance- 
condition  anything  resembling  absolute  truth. 

What  has  been  said  leads  to  the  same  conclusion  as 
that  reached  in  Chapter  IV — a  conclusion,  however, 
so  important  that  it  seems  well  to  recur  to  it  whenever 
it  needs  to  be  newly  applied.  The  conclusion  is  this— 
that  whatever  is  received  through  subconscious  agency 
is  liable  to  be  more  or  less  modified  by  thoughts  and 
feelings  in  some  conscious  mind.  As  has  been  inti- 
mated, this  conscious  mind  may  be  either  that  of  the 
person  who  is  being  influenced,  or  inspired,  as  we  say, 
by  or  through  his  own  subconscious  intellection;  or  it 
may  be  the  mind  of  another  who,  through  the  com- 
bined results  of  conscious  and  subconscious  processes, 
may  be  supposed  to  be  furnishing  external  suggestions 
to  the  inspired  person.  If  the  conscious  mind  be  that 
of  the  inspired  person  himself,  the  trustworthiness  of 
the  premise  which  he  develops  will  depend  upon  his 
own  intellectual  and  spiritual  attainments  and  char- 
acter. If  the  conscious  mind  be  that  of  another,  or 
of  others  surrounding  him,  the  trustworthiness  of  the 


152        THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

premise  will  depend  upon  their  intellectual  and  spiri- 
tual attainments — i.e.j  upon  whether  they  know  what 
truth  is,  and  whether  they  desire  to  have  it  exprest 
with  exactness. 

To  state  this  thought  differently,  the  form  of  an 
inspired  communication  must  depend  to  some  extent 
upon  the  intelligence  and  character  of  the  minds 
through  which  and  to  which  it  is  made.  It  is  impor- 
tant to  notice,  in  addition  to  this,  that  this  form  may  be 
affected  by  both  conscious  and  subconscious  intellec- 
tion in  these  minds.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  the 
results  of  conscious  observation  of  external  objects 
and  events  are  constantly  being  stored  and  developed 
in  the  subconscious  region,  and  furnishing  the  whole 
mind  with  its  material.  The  conditions,  therefore, 
seem  to  indicate  that  what  may  be  termed  the  formula- 
tion of  inspiration  is  always  liable  to  be  more  or  less 
modified,  because  developed  under  the  influence  of 
suggestions  coming  both  from  the  mind  of  the  inspired 
person  and,  sympathetically,  from  the  minds  of  those 
to  whom  his  communications  are  given.  In  other 
words,  it  seems  to  be  necessary  to  admit  the  effect  upon 
inspiration  of  environment,  under  which  term  we  may 
include  both  the  individual  and  the  general  thought 
of  one's  own  age,  and  not  only  of  this  but  of  former 
ages  of  which  the  thought  of  one's  own  age  is  a  result. 

In  these  conditions  we  seem  to  find  a  needed  ex- 
planation for  those  who  argue — with  however  much  or 
little  reason  it  is  not  necessary  for  us,  at  present,  to 


PROGRESSIVE  TRUTH  IN  BIBLE  153 

discuss — that  the  earlier  books  of  the  Bible  manifest  in 
places  the  influences  of  comparatively  low  domestic, 
social,  ethic,  religious,  and,  as  applied  especially  to 
accuracy,  scientific  and  historic  standards.  We  can 
attribute  such  facts — if  we  have  not  the  ability  or 
data  to  prove  that  they  are  not  facts — to  the  environ- 
ments of  him  through  whom  the  religious  influences 
were  communicated.  It  seems,  too,  as  if  this  were  a 
more  satisfactory  explanation  of  what  is  called  "the 
development  of  truth'7  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments, 
than  is  the  theory  that  ascribes  it  to  some  plan  of  the 
Almighty  such  as,  if  carried  out  by  a  man,  would  involve 
—as  some  think — a  form  of  deception.  Rather  than 
to  foster  such  an  impression,  and  to  seem  to  attribute 
to  the  Creative  Power  limitations  in  morality,  is  it  not 
better  to  attribute  the  result  to  limitations  in  ability? 
When  man  was  given  a  rational  intellect  and  a  free 
will,  to  say  nothing  of  a  material  body,  spiritual  in- 
fluence over  him  was  limited.  Why  is  it  not  logical  to 
infer  that  at  the  same  time,  and  for  the  same  reasons, 
the  possibility  of  holding  spiritual  communication  with 
him  was  limited?  If  so,  whether  the  substance  of  in- 
spiration may  be  supposed  to  come  immediately  from 
the  Divine  Being,  or  mediately  through  other  intervening 
intelligences,  it  is  hardly  possible  to  conceive  that  its 
highest  and  broadest  significance  could  be  intelligible  to 
the  low  and  limited  capacity  of  the  human  mind  receiv- 
ing it,  or  could  become  wholly  expressible,  or  rendered 
wholly  intelligible,  through  any  effort  of  that  mind. 


154        THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

To  a  certain  extent  this  view  must  be  conceded  to  be 
justifiable  by  a  large  number  of  very  orthodox  people, 
if  they  wish  to  be  logical.  Who  of  them  deny  that,  in 
accordance  with  what  is  said  in  1  Cor.  2;  14,  the  truth 
of  the  Scriptures  must  be  "spiritually  discerned "? 
But  what  does  this  mean  except  that  the  inspired  ele- 
ment is  underneath  the  phraseology  rather  than  in  it? 
Indeed,  are  not  all  the  words  of  the  phraseology,  with 
their  various  suggestions,  more  or  less  the  results  of 
the  thinking  processes,  conscious  and  subconscious,  of 
the  mind  that  happens  to  be  the  medium  of  the  spiritual 
communication?  "We  have  this  treasure,"  says  Paul, 
referring  in  2  Cor.  4;  7,  to  the  truth  that  may  be  sup- 
posed to  be  divine  and  absolute,  "in  earthen  vessels/' 
We  know  that  the  divine  purposes,  as  they  are  mani- 
fested in  other  earthen  vessels — in  crystals,  flowers, 
and  animals— are  not  embodied  with  unvarying  pre- 
cision. Probably  no  diamond,  rose,  or  human  face 
was  ever  discovered  that  did  not  manifest  some  varia- 
tion from  that  which  science  could  prove  to  be  its 
typical  or  ideal  form.  Now  if  these  material  objects 
all  leave  some  of  their  material  influence  upon  the  evi- 
dent divine  plan  to  shape  them  in  accordance  with  a 
divine  law,  why  should  not  the  human  mind  also  leave 
some  of  its  more  powerful  mental  influence  upon  the 
truth  which  the  mind  receives,  transmits,  and,  to  a 
certain  extent,  interprets? 

We  may  illustrate  this  subject  in  another  way.  Sup- 
pose a  man  to  have  all  the  subconscious  requirements 


MENTAL  BALANCE  IN  THE  INSPIRED      155 

for  inspiration — susceptibility  to  the  promptings  of  in- 
stinct, of  conscience,  and  of  sympathy — nevertheless  do 
we  not  all  recognize  that  without  something  in  his 
conscious  thinking  to  balance  this,  he  may  be  entitled 
to  have  no  more  influence  than  a  mere  enthusiast,  or 
even  an  influence  as  injurious  as  that  of  a  fanatic?  In 
either  case,  our  most  common  comment  on  his  efforts 
will  probably  be  that  he  is  not  practical.  What  do  we 
mean  by  this?  What  but  that  he  is  not  able  to  ac- 
commodate his  speech  and  action  to  existing  emergen- 
cies— i.e.,  to  surrounding  material  conditions,  to  facts 
as  discovered  by  investigation,  and  comprehended 
within  the  sphere  of  what  we  term  knowledge  ?  Only 
as  that  which  takes  its  rise  in  the  realm  of  spirit  is 
correlated  by  a  man  to  that  which  is  in  the  realm  of 
matter,  so  as  to  find  expression  through  it,  can  he  do 
for  his  fellows  all  that  a  man  of  intelligence  should  do. 
This  is  true  as  applied  to  him  not  only  as  a  thinker,  but 
as  a  teacher  and  leader  of  others  who  should  think. 
No  one  can  cause  either  himself  or  his  neighbor  to  ap- 
prehend the  full  import  of  spiritual  conditions  whose 
mind  is  not  able  to  do,  in  some  degree,  as  did  the  Christ 
when  he  never  spake  without  a  parable  (Mark  4;  34) 
—i.e.,  without  indicating  a  correspondence  between 
spiritual  and  material  conditions.  Men  can  not  fully 
recognize  the  religious  connection  between  mercy  and 
salvation,  between  faith  and  love,  unless  they  can  per- 
ceive them  illustrated  through  analogies  of  the  same 
in  secular  connections.  They  can  not  fully  realize  the 


156        THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

relations  between  God  and  man,  unless  they  can  see 
these  relations  imaged  in  the  relations  between  man 
and  man,  or,  if  they  be  Christians,  between  the  Great 
Master  and  man.  Indeed,  religion  can  not  become  in 
the  highest  sense  rational  and  enlightening,  unless  it 
be  led  by  certain  ideals;  and  ideals  are  always  earthly 
vessels  with  heavenly  contents;  outlines  modeled  on 
the  lower  world,  filled  in  with  light  and  color  from 
the  upper;  figures  of  the  actual  transfigured  by  the 
potential. 

What  has  just  been  said,  if  it  be  in  accordance  with 
facts,  may  render  the  statement  of  the  truth  less  com- 
prehensible and  definite,  but  it  need  not  render  the 
truth  itself  less  apprehensible  and  determinant.  As 
applied  to  other  matters,  when  a  person  urges  us  to  a 
course  of  justice,  or  wisdom,  or  warns  us  of  danger  or 
folly,  we  have  no  difficulty  in  recognizing  the  truth 
of  his  appeal,  notwithstanding  manifestations  of  even 
great  exaggeration  and  inaccuracy  of  statement,  so 
far  as  concern  details  of  emphasis  and  recollection.  We 
at  once  separate  the  significance  of  what  he  has  to  say 
from  that  which  he  has  formulated — i.e.,  the  spirit  of 
his  expression  from  the  letter  of  it — clearly  recognizing 
that  the  defects  in  this  latter  are  attributable  to  his 
own  mental  limitations,  and  do  not  materially  affect 
that  which  to  him  constitutes  the  essential  part  of  the 
communication.  Why  should  not  the  same  principle 
apply  to  some  extent  at  least — even  tho  complete 
investigation  may  show  that  it  is  never  necessary  to 


INSPIRATION  IN  THE  SCRIPTURES         157 

resort  to  it  to  the  extent  which  some  imagine — to  that 
which  may  be  supposed  to  be  received  through  the  form 
of  inspiration  which  is  exemplified  in  the  Christian 
Scriptures? 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  RATIONAL  METHOD  OF  INTERPRETING  BIBLICAL 
STATEMENTS 

Theories  of  Modern  Biblical  Critics— How  to  Reconcile  with  the  Con- 
ception of  Inspiration  the  Conception  That  Parts  of  the  Bible  Are 
Compiled  from  Other  Writers— Scriptural  Warrants  for  Testing 
by  the  Conscious  Mind  the  Truth  Coming  Through  the  Sub- 
conscious— The  Test  Afforded  by  the  Results  of  Previous  Informa- 
tion—Of Intuitive  Insight— Of  Logical  Inference— Application  of 
Faith  to  Matters  Beyond  the  Reach  of  Conscious  Information, 
Intuition,  or  Inference. 

If  we  can  suppose  the  principles  brought  out  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  chapter  preceding  this  to  be  applicable 
to  the  interpretation  of  the  Christian  Bible,  we  shall 
find  them  affording  a  strictly  logical  method  of  recon- 
ciling the  very  highest  conception  of  the  sources  of 
inspiration  with  the  most  advanced  theories  of  modern 
Biblical  critics.  These  theories  one  need  not  himself 
accept  in  order  to  recognize  the  importance,  in  view 
of  the  many  who  have  accepted  them,  of  showing  that 
they  do  not  necessitate  a  rejection  of  the  authoritative 
character  of  the  writings  to  which  they  apply. 

One  reason  why  the  theories  are  sometimes  supposed 
to  necessitate  this  is  that,  according  to  them,  many 
of  the  books  of  the  Bible,  instead  of  being,  as  was 
formerly  supposed,  consecutive  and  original,  were 
compiled  from  different  writings  existing  previously  to 

158 


COMPILATION  IN  THE  BIBLE  159 

the  time  when  they  were  arranged  as  at  present.  It 
is  held,  moreover,  that  these  previous  writings  were  not 
only  of  Hebraic  origin,  as  indicated  in  such  passages 
as  Joshua  10;  13,  "Is  not  this  written  in  the  book  of 
Jasher? "  or  as  1  Kings  11 ;  41,  "And  the  rest  of  the  acts 
of  Solomon  and  all  that  he  did,  and  his  wisdom,  are  they 
not  written  in  the  book  of  the  acts  of  Solomon?"  but 
that  they  were  often  of  Gentile  origin.  The  first  two 
chapters  of  the  book  of  Genesis,  for  instance,  are  said 
to  contain  two  separate  accounts  of  the  creation,  in  the 
first  of  which  the  word  used  for  God  is  invariably  the 
Hebraic  equivalent  for  Elohim,  a  plural  title  for  the 
Almighty  adopted  by  the  Hebrews  from  other  languages 
and  in  the  second  is  invariably  the  Hebraic  equiv- 
alent for  Jehovah,  the  peculiar  title  of  the  God  of  the 
Jews.  The  first  of  these  accounts,  too,  is  said  to  have 
been  discovered  among  the  ancient  Chaldean  records, 
tho  mixed  there  with  many  childish  legends  and 
polytheistic  explanations.  It  is  claimed  that  the  com- 
piler of  the  book  of  Genesis  reproduced  this  account, 
leaving  out  the  legends,  or  at  least  those  from  which 
important  spiritual  lessons  could  not  be  drawn,  and 
making  the  explanations  monotheistic.  Can  such  a 
claim  be  reconciled  with  a  theory  of  inspiration  that 
shall  continue  to  render  these  books  authoritative? 
Evidently,  according  to  the  view  presented  in  Chapter 
IV,  it  can  be.  For,  in  the  first  place,  according  to  this 
view,  inspiration  may  exist  among  any  people.  The 
general  order  of  creation  may  have  been  perceived  by 


160       THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

some  Chaldean  seer — possibly  later,  with  the  same 
result,  by  a  Hebraic — in  the  manner  suggested  in  the 
note  at  the  bottom  of  this  page ;  *  and  if  so,  there  would 
be  truth  in  the  general  outlines.  But,  in  the  second 
place,  according  to  this  view,  wherever  inspiration 
exists,  the  conscious  thinking  of  the  seer  or  interpreter 
is  apt  to  modify  it.  This  fact  may  account  for  any 
number  of  additions,  mythologic  or  polytheistic,  made 
to  the  inspired  matter  either  by  the  Chaldean  seers 
themselves,  or  by  the  writers  who  handed  down  their 
utterances.  But  the  same  fact  may  also  account  for 
the  omission  of  myths,  and  the  substitution  of  the 
monotheistic  theory,  on  the  part  of  the  Hebraic  com- 

*  William  Denton,  who  was  at  one  time  the  State  Geologist  of  Massachu- 
setts, in  his  book  entitled  "The  Soul  of  Things,"  gives  accounts  of  hundreds  of 
experiments  in  what  he  calls  psychometry.  In  this  the  subconscious  mind 
seems  to  derive  a  suggestion  from  a  material  object,  and  to  be  influenced  to 
make  explorations  into  its  story  in  a  manner  somewhat  analogous  to  that  in 
which  the  mind  of  the  physician  mentioned  on  page  65  explores  the  distant. 
Professor  Denton  found  that  certain  persons  were  what  he  termed  "sensitives.*1 
Into  the  hands  of  these  he  would  place  a  particular  object  without  informing  them 
about  it;  and  they  would  then  describe  it  and  give  its  history.  For  instance,  he 
would  put  lava  into  the  hands  of  a  child  ignorant  of  its  character,  and  this  child 
would  describe  the  whole  process  of  its  formation  from  a  volcano.  The  author 
of  this  book  has  placed  letters  in  the  hands  of  persons  of  this  kind,  who,  without 
opening  them,  have  not  only  determined  their  contents,  but  have  accurately  de- 
scribed the  characters  of  their  writers  and  the  localities  from  which  the  letters 
were  sent.  One  of  these  persons  is  said  to  have  described  in  this  manner  the 
experience  of  a  nail,  all  the  way  from  the  mine,  whence  its  iron  was  taken, 
through  its  voyages  in  a  battleship  to  a  sea-fight.  It  seems  useless  to  argue 
any  question  with  one  who  denies  that  a  knowledge  of  the  existence  of  such 
methods  of  mental  action  does  not  materially  assist  the  mind  in  conceiving  how 
the  series  of  pictures  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  describing  successive  stages 
in  the  creation  of  the  world,  which  no  man  could  ever  have  seen,  might  have 
been  composed.  Nor  does  it  lessen,  but  increase  a  true  conception  of  divine 
inspiration,  to  find  some  way,  as  in  this  case,  of  making  its  possibilities  more 
comprehensible.  When  the  divine  mind  works  through  human  agency,  it  is  not 
only  appropriate  for  us,  but  incumbent  upon  us  as  rational  beings,  to  try  to 
ascertain  the  methods  of  this  agency. 


INSPIRED  COMPILATION  161 

pilers.  We  all  know  that  certain  minds,  when  a  com- 
plicated mixture  of  fact  and  fiction  is  presented  to  them, 
manifest  peculiar  facility  in  separating  the  one  from 
the  other,  and  bringing  to  light  the  truth.  Most  of  us 
feel,  too,  if  we  do  not  know,  that  such  minds  reach 
their  conclusions  through  work  that  is  not  done  wholly 
in  the  region  of  consciousness.  They  reach  them  in- 
tuitively, as  we  say,  which  is  the  same  as  to  attribute 
them  in  part  to  the  mental  processes  that  are  hidden. 
If,  in  the  selection  and  arrangement  of  written  records, 
these  mental  processes  took  place  in  the  mind  of  one  in 
thorough  sympathy  with  the  Source  of  all  truth,  and 
while  developing  suggestions  derived  from  this  Source, 
why  might  not  the  result  conform  completely  to  that 
which  is  demanded  in  inspiration?  Why  should  there 
be  any  greater  difficulty  in  ascribing  inspiration  to  the 
selection  and  arrangement  of  prehistoric  matter,  as  in 
the  book  of  Genesis,  than  of  historic  matter,  as  in  the 
books  of  the  Kings?  And,  once  more,  going  back  to  the 
main  proposition  advanced  in  this  chapter,  why  should 
we  not  suppose  that,  in  this  prehistoric  matter  itself, 
there  should  be  certain  results  of  inspiration  which, 
when  selected  and  arranged  by  the  inspired  compiler, 
would  have  just  as  much  authority  as  could  be  assigned 
to  original  documents? 

We  are  now  prepared  to  say  that,  in  trying  to  ascer- 
tain the  character  of  the  truth  of  inspiration,  it  seems 
rational  to  carry  out  the  principle  already  suggested 
on  page  100.  Intelligently  interpreted,  the  expres- 


162       THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

sions,  "  Blessed  are  they  that  hear  the  word  of  God  and 
keep  it"  (Luke  11;  28).  "An  evil  generation  .  .  . 
seek  a  sign"  (Luke  11;  29),  and  " Believe  not  every 
spirit,"  even  tho  it  be  a  spirit,  "but  try  the  spirits 
whether  they  are  of  God"  (1  John  4;  1),  can  have  but 
one  meaning;  and  this  is  that  men  should  test  a  state- 
ment, even  tho  coming  from  an  acknowledged  spiritual 
source,  precisely  as  they  would  a  statement  coming 
from  any  other  source.  And  how  would  they  test  this? 
Mainly,  it  may  be  said,  in  three  ways:  by  its  conformity 
to  the  results  in  consciousness — first,  of  previous  in- 
formation; second,  of  intuitive  insight,  and,  third,  of 
logical  inference,  as  determined  according  to  the  laws 
of  evidence  and  of  argument.  In  the  Scriptures,  all 
three  methods  are  recognized  as  legitimate. 

Here  is  what  is  said  of  the  first  of  them:  "Let  that 
therefore  abide  in  you  which  ye  have  heard  from  the 
beginning"  (1  John  2;  24).  "To  the  law  and  to  the 
testimony:  if  they  speak  not  according  to  this  word,  it 
is  because  there  is  no  light  in  them  "  (Is.  8 ;  20).  ' '  Search 
the  Scriptures;  for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have  eternal 
life.  And  they  are  they  which  testify  of  me  (John  5; 
39).  "We  ought  to  give  the  more  earnest  heed  to  the 
things  that  we  have  heard,  lest  at  any  time  we  should  let 
them  slip"  (Heb.  2;  1).  "These  were  more  noble  than 
those  in  Thessalonica,  in  that  they  received  the  word 
with  all  readiness  of  mind  and  searched  the  Scriptures 
daily  whether  these  things  were  so"  (Acts  17;  11). 
Compare  also  John  15;  3  and  17;  17:  2  Tim.  3;  15: 


TESTS  OF  BIBLICAL  TRUTH  163 

Deut.  11;  18,  19:  Jos.  1;  8:  Rom.  15;  4:  2  Peter  1; 
19,  etc.  The  general  principle  underlying  such  in- 
junctions is  almost  self-evident.  It  is  this:  The  in- 
dividual has  time  to  discover  and  develop  compara- 
tively little;  he  must  avail  himself  of  that  which, 
through  revelation  or  reflection,  has  been  attained  by 
others  who  may  be  considered  to  have  been,  on  the 
whole,  accurate  in  their  observations,  honest  in  their 
convictions,  candid  in  their  representations,  and  wise 
in  their  conclusions.  In  a  general  way,  this  may  be 
said  to  necessitate  every  one's  having  what  may  be 
termed  intellectual  charity.  Exercised  toward  the  be- 
liefs of  his  ancestors,  and  in  an  ecclesiastical  direction, 
this  charity  might  make  a  man  a  churchman,  and 
zealous  in  training  the  young  in  the  tenets  of  his  church; 
but,  at  the  same  time,  exercised  toward  the  beliefs  of 
strangers  or  of  adherents  of  other  sects  or  religions,  the 
two  methods  of  testing  truth  yet  to  be  considered  would, 
of  themselves,  cause  him  to  recognize  mental  rights  to  a 
sufficient  extent  to  keep  him  from  being  a  bigot.  But 
some  may  ask  how,  if  we  apply  the  first  test,  can  we 
also  apply  the  second  and  third  tests;  in  other  words, 
how  can  one  let  that  " abide"  in  him  which  he  has 
" heard  from  the  beginning/7  and  yet,  while  doing  this, 
not  surrender  his  individual  exercise  of  intuitive  in- 
sight, or  logical  inference?  In  this  way,  as  it  seems: 
According  to  what  was  said  on  page  152,  that  which  is 
received  from  without  the  mind,  when  left  to  take  its 
natural  course — i.e.,  when  left  to  influence  one's  spirit 


164       THE  PSYCHO L OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

in  the  way  in  which  nature  has  provided  that  the  spirit 
should  be  influenced — sinks  into  the  region  of  un- 
consciousness. Here,  digested,  so  to  speak;  by  the 
mind,  and  incorporated  into  its  working  organism,  the 
importations  from  without  become  a  part  of  the  sub- 
conscious possessions,  giving  inevitable  bias  to  each 
prompting  that  emerges  into  consciousness.  For  this 
reason  they  may  be  said  to  be  constantly  operative  in 
the  mind.  But  they  are  not  operative  in  any  such 
way  as  to  interfere  with  the  conscious  freedom  of  the 
mind,  whether  exercised  in  forming  judgments  or  in 
drawing  conclusions.  In  Chapter  XII  it  will  be 
shown  that  a  man  of  faith  is  one  who  is  governed  by 
his  subjective  promptings,  and,  in  this  sense,  by  that 
which  has  been  " heard  from  the  beginning/'  and  which 
gives  bias  to  these;  but,  at  the  same  time,  it  will  be 
shown  that  he  must  exercise  the  conscious  powers  of 
his  mind  fully  as  much  as  others  who  have  no  faith. 
His  mind  works  differently  from  theirs  solely  in  being 
"not  disobedient  unto  the  heavenly  vision"  (Acts  26; 
19),  in  giving  not  only  due,  but  chief  consideration  to 
the  spiritual  side  of  life — to  motives  that  come  from 
the  realm  within,  from  the  ideal ;  whereas  the  others  do 
not  give  these  the  chief  consideration,  being  influenced 
almost  exclusively  from  the  material  side  of  life,  from 
that  which  is  outward  and  real.  The  great  religious 
leaders — Augustine  and  Luther  not  only,  but  Jesus  as 
well — have  been  characterized  not  by  any  neglect  of 
the  results  of  intuitive  insight  or  of  logical  inference, 


TESTS  OF  BIBLICAL  TRUTH  165 

but  by  a  conscientious  endeavor  to  subordinate  or 
conform  these  to  that  which  has  been  "  heard  from  the 
beginning."  They  have  sought  to  develop  this  latter, 
and  not  to  destroy  it.  They  have  been  conservative  as 
well  as  progressive.  They  have  tried  to  graft  the  new 
upon  the  old,  and  thus  to  reform  rather  than  to  revo- 
lutionize. If  we  grasp  this  conception  of  the  subject, 
we  shall  perceive  that  an  application  of  the  test  that 
we  have  been  considering  need  not  interfere  with  an 
application  of  the  tests  that  are  to  follow.  The  most 
conscientious  and  conservative  mind,  when  working 
normally,  can  be  governed  by  that  which  has  "been 
heard  from  the  beginning,"  and  yet  be  influenced  not 
by  precept  but  by  principle,  and  being  so,  can  carry 
this  latter  out  not  according  to  the  letter  but  according 
to  the  spirit,  and  therefore  so  as  not  in  any  sense 
to  make  the  "word  of  God,"  communicated  in  any 
other  way,  "of  none  effect  through"  mere  "tradition" 
(Mark  7;  13). 

This  last  quotation  may  well  introduce  the  second 
test  of  truth  mentioned  on  page  162,  namely,  that 
afforded  by  the  conformity  of  results  to  those  of  intui- 
tive insight.  "Blessed  are  they,"  said  Jesus  (Luke  11; 
28),  "that  hear  the  word  of  God  and  keep  it" — i.e.y  with- 
out any  other  evidence.  "An  evil  generation  .  .  .  seek 
a  sign"  (Luke  11;  29);  and  the  method  of  the  apostles 
is  said  to  have  been  "by  manifestation  of  the  truth 
commending"  themselves  "to  every  man's  conscience" 
(2  Cor.  4;  2).  The  idea  here  seems  to  be  that  truth 


166       THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

can  be  determined  at  times  by  its  own  inherent  quality. 
Indeed,  for  other  reasons,  one  might  almost  be  justi- 
fied in  holding  a  theory  that  a  mind  working  normally 
should  recognize  the  difference  between  truth  and  error 
as  inevitably  as  a  tongue  recognizes  the  difference  be- 
tween the  sweet  and  the  bitter.  Of  course,  the  trust- 
worthiness of  this  theory  can  never  be  fully  tested,  be- 
cause, as  a  fact,  the  mind  seldom  or  never  does  work 
normally.  Consciously  or  unconsciously,  it  is  constantly 
under  the  influence  of  false  standards  of  thought  and 
action,  causing  false  conceptions  of  what  causes  truth 
to  be  of  authority,  and  mistaken  endeavors  to  make 
the  information  freshly  presented  conform  to  false- 
hood already  accepted.  Notwithstanding  this,  it  is 
probably  a  fact  that  absolute  truth  is  attained  mainly 
in  the  degree  in  which  men  who  lead  the  world  to  the 
appreciation  and  application  of  new  phases  of  the 
truth,  as  well  as  the  followers  of  such  men,  are  largely 
inclined  to  judge  of  it  intuitively;  and  that  no  other 
method,  if  conscientiously  applied,  can  so  well  pre- 
serve men  in  times  of  either  religious  decline  or  progress 
from  too  great  retrogression  on  the  one  hand  or  pre- 
cipitancy on  the  other. 

The  third  test  of  truth  was  said  to  be  conformity  to 
the  results  of  logical  inference  or  reasoning.  "Let  us 
reason  together,"  says  Isaiah  in  Is.  1;  18;  let  us  give  a 
"reasonable  service,"  urges  Paul  in  Rom.  12;  1.  A 
result  may  be  rendered  reasonable  in  many  different 
ways — chiefly,  perhaps,  by  being  made  to  fulfil  the 


TE8T8  OF  BIBLICAL  TRUTH  167 

laws  of  argument  or  of  evidence,  as  applied  either  to 
the  substance  of  an  utterance,  or  to  the  character  of  its 
utterer,  as  manifested  in  either  his  words  or  his  actions. 
" Believe  me,"  said  Jesus  to  Philip,  "  ...  or  else  believe 
me  for  the  very  work's  sake"  (John  14;  11).  But  to 
whatever  this  test  of  logical  inference  may  be  applied, 
it  is  a  test  which  the  mind  is  always  ready  to  assume 
that  it  has  a  right  to  apply.  Who  ever  heard  a  sermon 
in  the  most  bigoted  of  sects  the  whole  object  of  which 
was  not  to  show  the  accordance  of  some  statement  in  a 
text  with  not  only  the  previous  information  of  the 
audience  concerning  its  subject  or  other  subjects,  and 
with  the  intuitive  promptings  of  conscience,  but  also 
with  conclusions  logically  deducible  from  an  examina- 
tion of  testimony  and  argument? 

But  if  we  may  judge  of  truth  according  to  these  last 
two  tests,  some  one  may  ask  what  are  we  to  do  with 
inspired  statements  to  which  neither  test  can  be  ap- 
plied, with  statements  concerning  matters  beyond  the 
reach  of  human  insight  or  reasoning,  with  statements 
which  have  to  be  accepted  upon  faith?  The  answer 
is  that  one  holding  the  theory  just  presented  would 
have  to  accept  such  statements  for  the  same  reason 
that  causes  any  one  else  to  accept  them  (see  page  314). 
The  strongest  argument  in  favor  of  them  is  that  the 
matters  to  which  such  statements  refer  form  a  part  of  a 
general  system  of  belief,  and  that  a  system  which  can  be 
proved  to  be  true  as  a  whole  must  be  true  in  its  parts; 
and  the  force  of  this  argument  can  not  be  lessened  by 


168        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

anything  that  has  been  said  here.  There  is  every 
reason  to  believe  that  the  three  tests  that  have  been 
indicated,  when  applied  to  Scriptural  truth;  will  prove 
it  abundantly  able  of  itself  to  maintain  any  authority 
that  it  may  need 


CHAPTER  VIII 

ARGUMENTS  FOR  AND  AGAINST  INTERPRETING  BIBLICAL 
STATEMENTS  AS  SUGGESTIVE  AND  NOT  DICTATORIAL 

The  View  Presented  in  the  Preceding  Chapter  Seems  to  Subject  the 
Truth  of  God  to  the  Judgment  of  Man— This  Method  in  Analogy 
with  Other  Ways  in  Which  Man  is  Expected  to  Interpret  Divine 
Truth — Nature  and  Experience  Influence  Him  so  as  to  Cultivate 
His  Power  of  Acting  Rationally— Effect  of  This  Upon  the  Young— 
We  Should  Expect  the  Same  Method  to  Be  Pursued  in  Revelation : 
Impossibility  of  Any  Other  Method  Except  the  Suggestive  in 
Communicating  Spiritual  Truth — The  Error  of  Interpreting  the 
Scriptures  Literally. 

All  the  objections  that  can  be  brought  against  the 
line  of  thought  just  presented  may  be  resolved,  in  the 
last  analysis,  into  one,  namely,  that  it  seems  to  sub- 
mit, and  even  to  subject,  that  which  is  supposed  to  be 
divine  truth  to  the  tests  of  human  judgment,  and  this 
the  judgment  not  merely  of  a  collection  of  men,  but 
often  of  an  individual.  It  is  argued  that  to  allow  each 
man  to  determine  independently  the  application  of 
divine  truth  to  himself  and  to  those  for  whom  he  is 
responsible  is  equivalent  to  claiming  that  he  can  get 
along  without  any  divine  guidance  whatsoever.  In- 
deed, some  go  so  far  as  to  insinuate  that  if  one  be  left 
to  make  out  of  the  Bible  what  he  chooses,  he  is  no 
better  off  than  if  he  had  no  Bible.  A  little  reflection, 
however,  will  reveal  that  such  inferences  are  not 
strictly  deducible  from  the  premises.  It  is  not  logical 


170       THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

to  conclude  from  what  has  been  said  that  a  man  can 
get  out  of  the  Bible  what  he  chooses,  but  only  what  he 
thinks;  and  a  Bible  which  is  made  a  source  of  thought 
may  impart  a  great  deal,  even  tho  accepted  suggestively 
rather  than  dictatorially.  Besides  this,  on  account  of 
the  influence  always  exerted  from  the  divine  source  of 
life  over  the  mind,  especially  that  part  of  it  which  in- 
cludes the  subconscious,  a  man,  even  if  left  to  himself, 
is  not  left  without  something  impelling  him,  and  this 
in  a  very  unmistakable  manner,  to  construe  the  truth 
submitted  to  his  judgment  in  accordance  with  the 
divine  intention.  The  very  fact  that  one  is  created 
with  the  possibility  of  eyesight  and  given  light  causes 
him  to  be  guided  by  the  Creator,  even  tho  in  addition 
to  this  he  feel  no  hand  leading  him.  In  the  same  way, 
the  very  fact  that  he  is  created  with  the  possibilities  of 
subconscious  mentality,  not  to  say  morality,  and  given 
suggestions,  causes  him  to  be  guided  by  the  Creator, 
even  tho  in  addition  he  hear  no  word  of  explicit 
command. 

Whatever  may  be  said  against  the  method  of  ac- 
cepting the  Scriptures  advanced  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  this  method  is  in  analogy  with  those  that  we 
are  obliged  to  pursue  when  accepting  any  truth  that 
the  Divine  Being  imparts  in  any  other  way.  There  is 
many  a  lesson  taught  by  nature;  but  we  are  forced  to 
study  hard  in  order  to  learn  it;  and,  even  then,  we  are 
not  always  certain  that  we  have  learned  it  aright. 
Meantime,  however,  we  have  learned  enough — if  not 


TR  UTH  IN  NA TUBE  SUG GESTED  171 

to  satisfy  our  desire  for  knowledge — at  least  to  secure 
our  physical  safety.  As  will  be  shown  presently,  this 
is  exactly  paralleled  by  what  every  man  can  learn  from 
the  Scriptures  with  reference  to  that  which  can  secure 
his  spiritual  safety.  Again,  in  connection  with  the 
suggestive  character  of  divine  revelation  as  imparted 
through  nature,  the  human  mind  has  been  so  influenced 
that  every  mental  factor  that  is  of  real  value  in  human 
progress  has  been  stimulated  to  the  full.  If  man  had 
not  been  left  to  find  out  many  truths,  which  are  not 
revealed  in  nature  but  merely  suggested,  humanity 
would  never  have  known  such  developments  as  are  in- 
dicated by  the  words  philosophy,  science,  and  history. 
The  same  is  true  with  reference  to  the  revelations  in  the 
Scriptures.  Think  how  the  world  of  thought  would  be 
impoverished  if  it  could  be  possible  to  eliminate  from 
our  libraries  not  only  all  our  theological  works,  but  all 
the  essays,  poems,  and  novels  written  in  order  to  ad- 
vocate or  oppose  certain  peculiar  interpretations  of 
vague  and  doubtful  passages  of  Scripture!  How,  too, 
would  the  world  of  achievement  be  impoverished, 
could  we  eliminate  from  it  the  results,  in  philanthropy 
and  missionary  enterprise,  which  have  been  due  to 
organized  efforts  to  emphasize  one  or  another  of  these 
possible  interpretations ! 

But  how  about  the  individual  ?  it  may  be  asked.  Is 
he  to  be  left  to  be  the  slave  of  his  own  lack  of  intel- 
ligence and  judgment?  There  is  but  one  answer  to 
this — he  certainly  should  be  left  in  this  condition, 


172        THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TTON 

unless  his  own  reason  tell  him  that  it  is  wiser  for  him 
to  be  guided  by  those  who  have  learned  more,  and 
have  thought  more,  than  he  himself  has.  Fortunately, 
reason,  wherever  it  is  followed,  usually  does  tell  most 
men  exactly  this.  So  far  as  it  does  not  tell  them  this, 
one  can  not  easily  perceive  upon  what  ground  it  can 
be  argued  that  they  are  under  obligation  to  surrender 
their  own  mental  rights;  especially  in  view  of  the  fact 
that,  by  not  doing  so,  they  are  really  increasing  their 
ability  to  exercise  these?  If  there  be  any  solution  for 
the  most  important  problem  which  life  presents  to  all 
of  us;  if  there  be  anything  that  explains  what  existence 
on  earth  is  intended  to  do  for  a  man,  the  solution,  so 
far  as  it  can  be  indicated  by  the  facts  of  experience, 
must  be  this — that  life  is  designed  to  train  a  rational 
creature  to  act  rationally — by  which  latter  word  is 
meant  here  to  act  in  accordance  not  merely  with  the 
highest  intellectual,  but  also  with  the  highest  emotional 
and  spiritual  motives.  No  one  can  consider  for  any 
length  of  time  the  conditions  to  which  a  man  is  sub- 
jected on  earth  without  recognizing  that,  in  order  to 
do  right,  he  must  always  make  a  rational  choice  be- 
tween alternatives.  Moreover,  as  if  all  the  conditions 
were  arranged  so  as  to  force  him  to  exercise  this  choice, 
he  must  always  make  it  between  alternatives  of  such 
a  nature  that  either  of  them,  if  allowed  to  influence  his 
action  without  his  making  a  choice,  would  necessitate 
his  doing  wrong.  For  instance,  take  one  of  the  primary 
obligations  of  religious  practise:  a  man,  it  is  said, 


LIFE  DESIGNED  TO  TRAIN  RATIONALITY  173 

should  be  self-sacrificing  and  generous.  But  how?  If 
saving  nothing,  he  give  away  all  that  he  has,  he  will 
impoverish  himself  to  such  an  extent  as  to  become  not 
only  a  public  nuisance  but  a  public  burden.  Even  if, 
like  the  so-styled  "holy  men77  of  India,  he  do  not  walk 
the  streets  naked,  and  beg,  he  will,  at  least,  oblige 
others  to  work  for  him,  and,  possibly,  tax  themselves 
in  order  to  build  a  poor-house  in  which  he  may  find 
board  and  lodging.  On  the  other  hand,  if  he  become 
a  miser  and  save  everything,  he  will  enrich  himself  at 
the  expense  of  the  community,  and  become  an  equal 
nuisance  and  burden,  because  contributing  nothing  to 
the  general  welfare.  What  can  he  do?  It  is  usually 
impossible  that  any  one  should  tell  him  this,  because  no 
one  can  know  all  the  demands  that  circumstances  and 
conscience  may  make  upon  him.  It  is  impossible  that 
he  should  do  exactly  right,  therefore,  except  so  far  as 
he  exercises  his  own  reason,  and  makes  a  wise  choice 
between  giving  too  much  and  too  little.  Exactly  the 
same  sort  of  choice  must  be  exercised  with  reference  to 
every  question  that  presents  itself  for  practical  solu- 
tion. In  no  methods  of  pastime  or  of  business,  of  enter- 
tainment or  of  philanthropy,  of  feasting  or  of  exhort- 
ing, of  dancing  or  of  praying,  of  manifesting  loyalty  to  a 
political  party  or  to  a  church  of  which  he  is  a  member, 
can  a  man  do  right  merely  by  following  the  advice  or 
dictation  of  others.  There  come  times  when  it  is  es- 
sential that  he  should  make  for  himself  a  rational  choice 
between  extremes. 


174        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

How  almost  every  earnest  young  person  between 
fifteen  and  twenty-five  years  of  age  suffers  because  of 
this  obligation!  Just  as  he  becomes  free  from  the  dic- 
tation of  parents  or  teachers,  how  he  longs — often 
unconscious  of  the  reason  why — for  some  other  person 
to  take  their  places  and  tell  him  exactly  what  is  or  is 
not  right !  This  feeling  explains  why  so  many,  at  this 
age,  rush  into  churches,  or  orders,  which  claim  it  to  be 
the  first  duty  of  mind  to  submit  to  the  authority  of 
others.  But  is  it  wise  or  right  for  reason,  in  this  way, 
to  rid  itself  of  its  responsibilities?  Certainly  not,  if 
the  object  of  life  be  to  train  one  to  use  his  reason.  Cer- 
tainly not  if,  by  missing  this  training,  one  miss  the  de- 
velopment which  he  was  sent  into  the  world  to  secure. 
Nor,  however  much  of  the  effects  of  training  or  develop- 
ment he  may  avoid  by  such  a  course,  can  he  ever 
escape  wholly  from  the  responsibility  that  he  seeks  to 
shirk.  His  mind  may  become  that  of  a  bigot,  too 
weighted  on  one  side  by  authority  to  think  with  bal- 
ance, or  that  of  a  fanatic,  too  excited  or  affrighted  by 
the  same  to  think  with  sequence;  nevertheless  there 
will  come  times  when  he  must  think,  and  think  for 
himself — times  when  he  is  reading  in  private  his  Bible 
or  his  ritual — times  when  he  is  dealing  in  private  with 
his  servant  or  his  fellow.  Is  it  not  inevitable  that,  at 
such  times,  the  reason  that  has  been  so  treated  as  to 
form  a  habit  of  not  acting  at  all,  or  of  not  acting  nor- 
mally, will  come  to  one  decision,  and  the  reason  that  has 
not  been  so  treated  will  come  to  another  decision?  If 


BIBLE  SHOULD  TRAIN  RATIONALITY      175 

so,  which  decision  of  the  two  is  likely  to  be  more  in 
accord  with  the  laws  of  nature,  material  or  spiritual, 
human  or  divine? — that  given  by  the  reason  which  has 
been  artificially  sheltered  like  a  grown  man  always 
kept  in  a  nursery? — or  by  the  reason  which  the  influ- 
ences naturally  exerted  upon  life  in  the  world  have,  ^ 
according  to  methods  divinely  designed,  brought  to 
the  condition  that  must  have  been  intended? 

Besides  what  has  just  been  said,  however,  and  the 
very  logical  conclusion  that  may  be  drawn  from  it, 
which  is  that  the  same  method  of  divine  influence  which 
is  exerted  upon  reason  through  nature  and  experience 
should  be  exerted  upon  reason  when  coming  also 
through  the  mediumship  of  the  inspired  Scriptures, 
a  deeper  consideration  needs  to  be  noticed  before  one 
can  apprehend  fully  why  spiritual  truth  is  not  com- 
municated through  explicit  statements.  This  consider- 
ation is  that,  to  communicate  it  thus  would  be  in- 
trinsically impossible.  How  could  men  accustomed 
to  only  material  conditions  be  made  to  understand  the 
nature  of  spiritual  conditions  except  by  way  of  sug- 
gestion? The  common  sense  at  the  basis  of  this  ques- 
tion ought  to  reveal  itself  even  to  the  advocates  of  the 
view  opposed  to  the  one  here  presented,  if,  for  no  other 
reason,  because  they  all  profess  strenuously  to  believe 
in  the  literal  interpretation  of  the  Bible.  What  does 
this  book  say  on  the  subject?  (Is.  55;  8,  9)  "My 
thoughts  are  not  as  your  thoughts,  neither  are  your 
ways  my  ways.  For  as  the  heavens  are  higher  than 


176        THE  PSYCHO L OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

the  earth,  so  are  my  ways  higher  than  your  ways";  or, 
to  quote  again  from  1  Cor.  2;  9,  "Eye  hath  not  seen 
nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  of 
man  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them 
that  love  him."  Those  of  us  who  prefer  to  interpret 
these  passages  as  we  do  others — i.e.,  by  the  aid  of 
reason — will  recall  that  the  experiences  of  mind — which, 
if  not  a  part  of  those  of  spirit,  are,  at  least,  the  ones  most 
resembling  the  experiences  of  spirit — are  never  mani- 
fested through  our  material  body  by  anything  that,  in 
the  least,  resembles  themselves.  In  the  seven  volumes 
on  " Comparative  Esthetics"  written  by  the  author  of 
this  book,  innumerable  illustrations  are  given  of  meth- 
ods of  representing — and  representing  very  unmistak- 
ably, too — certain  thoughts  and  emotions  which,  be- 
cause of  being  experienced  only  in  the  inaudible  and 
invisible  mind,  need,  in  order  to  be  made  known  to  oth- 
ers, to  be  translated,  as  it  were,  into  forms  that  can  be 
seen  or  heard.  It  is  pointed  out,  however,  that,  in  no 
instance  is  the  representing  sight  or  sound  at  all  like 
the  mental  experience  which  is  represented.  There 
is  no  resemblance,  for  instance,  between  a  questioning 
attitude  of  mind  and  an  upward  inflection;  or  between 
a  threatening  attitude  and  a  contracted  fist.  So  we 
could  go  through  the  whole  list  of  thoughts  and  emo- 
tions made  known  through  some  form  of  natural  or  of 
artistic  expression,  as  in  music,  poetry,  painting,  sculp- 
ture, or  architecture,  and,  tho  we  might  find  all  of  them 
represented  suggestively,  we  could  find  none  of  them 


SPIRITUAL  WORLD  INCONCEIVABLE       177 

presented  exactly  as  they  are.  If  this  be  so,  and  if  it 
illustrate,  as  presumably  it  does,  a  universal  fact  with 
reference  to  the  degree  in  which  the  spiritual  can  be 
communicated  through  the  material,  how  mistaken 
must  he  be  who  acts  upon  the  theory  that  the  Scrip- 
tures should  or  can  be  understood  literally?  We  can 
probably  understand  and  interpret  them  thus  to  some 
extent.  Almost  every  word,  which  originally  had  more 
or  less  of  a  figurative  or  merely  representative  meaning, 
becomes  apparently  literal  when  it  comes  to  be  used 
conventionally  with  only  one  meaning.  But  when  we 
consider  such  words,  phrases,  and  prolonged  descrip- 
tions of  the  Scriptures  as  attempt  to  describe  conditions 
that  can  never  come  to  be  conventionally  understood 
because  they  have  never  and  can  never  be  experienced 
or  conceived  by  mortals,  we  would  better  be  humble, 
and  gratefully  accept  what  is  revealed  to  us  upon  the 
hypothesis  that  it  is  merely  suggestive.  It  is  one  thing 
to  believe  that  we  can  derive  from  the  Scriptures 
that  which  is  sufficient  to  secure  our  individual  sal- 
vation— all  must  believe  this  or  else  believe  the  author 
of  them  a  deceiver — it  is  an  entirely  different  thing  to 
believe  that  we  may  be  made  to  receive  from  them 
anything  more  than  very  vague  intimations  of  those 
mysteries  which  it  is  impossible  to  have  explained  in 
terms  of  this  world. 


CHAPTER  IX 

CHRISTIAN  DOGMATISM  AS   AFFECTED  BY  CONSIDERING 
SPIRITUAL  TRUTH  SUGGESTIVE 

Conclusions  Reached  in  Preceding  Chapter— Confirmation  of  These 
Afforded  by  the  Scriptures— These  Conclusions  Are  Not  Accepted 
by  Christians  in  General — Deleterious  Effects  of  This  Manifested 
in  Diminished  Attendance  Upon  Church  Services— The  Church 
Should  Remedy  This  Condition — Origin  of  Dogmatism,  Intoler- 
ance, and  the  Dark  Ages — Dogmatism  and  Intolerance  as  Irrational 
as  Uncharitable— Creeds  Should  Not  Be  Made  a  Test  of  Christian 
Character — Applied  to  the  Doctrine  of  Inspiration  —  Injurious 
Effects  of  Applying  Such  a  Test  in  Connection  with  This  Doctrine 
—Same  Principle  Exemplified  with  Reference  to  the  Doctrine  of 
the  Personality  of  God — The  Trinity — The  Immaculate  Conception 
and  Incarnation— The  Method  of  Salvation— The  Problem  in  Salva- 
tion—Its Solution  in  the  Work  of  the  Christ— How  Dogmatism, 
Tho  Based  Upon  This  Solution,  Does  Harm — Not  Only  Among 
Christians,  but  Non-Christians,  as  Buddhists  and  Mohammedans 
—Same  Principle  Applied  to  Doctrine  of  Eternal  Punishment- 
Certainty  with  Reference  to  Spiritual  Truth  Not  Justifiable- 
Illustration  of  the  Practical  Evils  of  This  Attitude. 

In  accordance  with  what  was  said  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  it  seems  neither  best  nor  possible  for  sacred 
writings  to  give  expression  to  truth  in  any  other  way 
than  by  that  of  suggestion — not  best  because  of  what 
is  required  for  the  development  of  reason  in  man;  and 
not  possible  because  of  the  essential  differences  be- 
tween the  spiritual  and  the  material,  which  latter 
furnishes  the  only  means  in  this  world  of  enabling  us 
to  interpret  that  which  issues  from  the  former. 

A  very  slight  examination  of  the  history  of  the 

m 


AMBIGUITY  OF  SCRIPTURE  179 

effects  of  any  sacred  writings  will  confirm  this  concep- 
tion of  the  character  of  their  influence.  As  was  said 
in  the  Introduction,  sacred  writings  such  as  the  Vedas, 
the  Zend-Avesta,  the  Koran,  and  the  Bible  are  all 
differently  interpreted  by  different  groups  of  readers. 
" There  are  sixty  distinct  sects  of  Buddhists  in  Japan/' 
said  a  Japanese  priest  to  the  author;  and,  as  we  all 
know,  there  are  almost  as  many  different  Christian 
sects  in  America  and  England.  Yet  Quakers  and 
Romanists,  Unitarians  and  Episcopalians,  Presbyte- 
rians and  Universalists,  Baptists  and  Christian  Scien- 
tists, are  all  equally  ready  to  argue  that  their  peculiar 
tenets  and  forms  are  those  that  most  accurately  repre- 
sent the  truth  as  exprest  in  one  and  the  same  Bible. 
No  additional  fact  is  needed  in  order  to  prove  that,  in 
the  text  which  presents  this  truth,  it  is  exprest  sug- 
gestively, not  explicitly.  If  exprest  in  the  latter  form, 
rational  minds,  when  studying  it,  could  not  draw  from 
it  so  many  divergent  conclusions. 

Nevertheless,  a  large  number  of  people  seem  to  think 
otherwise.  As  applied  to  Christians,  at  least,  the  ma- 
jority seem  to  believe  in  their  hearts,  even  when  they 
try  to  be  the  most  charitable,  that  what  is  termed 
Scriptural  truth  is  something  which  can  be  exprest 
explicitly,  and  that  no  one  can  be  a  Christian  in  reality 
unless,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  he  has  accepted 
it  as  thus  exprest.  One  would  naturally  think  that  the 
practical  result  of  such  a  belief — and  the  belief  itself  is 
held  because  this  is  thought  to  be  its  practical  result 


180         THE  PSYCHO L OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

— would  be  to  cause  those  influenced  by  it  to  unite 
in  accepting  the  Biblical  phraseology  as  it  is.  But, 
strange  to  say,  the  contrary  is  true.  The  actual  prac- 
tical result  is  to  cause  the  acceptance  of  the  Biblical 
phraseology  only  so  far  as  it  has  been  interpreted  in 
creeds,  rituals,  and  hymns  prepared  by  theologians 
and  others  who,  as  a  rule,  are  acknowledged  not  to  have 
been  inspired.  These  persons,  acting  in  accordance 
with  what  they  suppose  to  be  the  requirements  of  the 
human  mind,  think  that  they  can  make  the  truth  of 
inspiration  more  effective  by  rendering  it  more  explicit. 
But  this  is  an  end  that  they  can  not  attain  without 
adding  to  the  Biblical  phraseology  very  much  that  is 
originated  by  themselves.  The  very  nature  of  that 
which  they  are  undertaking  to  do  necessitates  this. 
In  other  words,  the  natural  effect  of  their  efforts  at 
times  is  to  take  from  Scriptural  truth  the  suggestive 
and  inspiring  quality  which  furnishes  the  foremost 
proof  of  its  spiritual  origin.  Moreover,  after  they  have 
substituted,  so  far  as  they  can,  materially  explicit 
statements  in  place  of  those  that  are  spiritually  sug- 
gestive, there  is  nothing  left  for  them  logically  but  to 
expect  men  to  receive  their  products  in  the  only  way 
in  which  explicit  statements  can  be  received — i.e.,  ex- 
plicitly or  dogmatically.  Having  supposed  this,  the 
next  logical  step  is  to  try  to  compel  acceptance  of  these 
through  means,  as  indicated  in  Chapter  X,  other  than 
those  legitimate  to  an  appeal  to  the  thinking  faculties 
alone. 


DIMINISHING  CHURCH  ATTENDANCE      181 

If  this  supplanting  of  the  expressions  of  inspiration 
by  those  of  theology,  and  this  compelling  of  an  ac- 
ceptance of  the  latter  through  physical,  moral,  social, 
national,  or  any  other  kind  of  force,  be  erroneous,  we 
should  expect  the  results  to  make  this  fact  clear?  Do 
they?  One  is  not  unwarranted  in  giving  to  this  ques- 
tion an  answer  most  emphatically  affirmative.  Some 
months  ago,  the  author  heard  it  stated  from  a  London 
pulpit  that  the  churches  of  that  city,  including  Sunday- 
schools,  are  attended  by  four-fifths  of  the  children,  but 
by  only  one-fifth  of  the  adult  population.  The  state- 
ment set  him  to  thinking.  He  concluded  that  this  con- 
dition must  be  owing  to  the  fact  that  certain  methods 
used  by  the  Church  appeal  more  effectively  to  children 
— or  are  supposed  by  their  guardians  to  do  this — than 
they  appeal  to  their  elders.  Can  this  be  so;  and  if  it  be 
so,  what  are  these  methods?  So  far  as  concerns  their 
general  character,  they  must,  of  course,  be  such  as  are 
used  to  influence  sentiment  and  conduct  through  first  in- 
fluencing thought.  Does  the  Church  use  any  methods  of 
influencing  thought  which,  owing  to  their  nature,  are 
effective  with  the  young,  and  are  not  effective  with 
the  grown?  A  moment's  reflection  will  convince  us 
that  such  methods  are  used;  and  will  reveal  to  us  also 
what  they  are.  A  child  is  obliged,  and  therefore  is 
accustomed,  to  have  others  think  for  him.  A  man  is 
obliged,  and  therefore  is  accustomed,  to  think  for  him- 
self. As  a  consequence,  the  child,  when  he  goes  to 
church,  naturally  accepts  what  has  been  thought  out 


182         THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

for  him  by  others.  The  man  does  not  naturally  do 
this.  There  has  been  a  change  in  the  demands  of  his 
mind.  Yet  the  Church  has  not  changed  its  methods — 
i.e.,  not  essentially.  It  gives  the  man  less  teaching  and 
more  preaching;  but  often  in  the  latter,  and  almost 
always  in  its  confessions,  rituals,  and  hymns,  there  are 
implications  that  his  first  duty  is  to  accept  the  results 
of  the  thinking  of  others.  Does  not  this  fact  account 
for  the  absence  from  Church  of  large  numbers,  especially 
in  cases  in  which,  as  often  happens,  they  are  so  ex- 
ceptionally serious  in  their  characters  that  their  lack 
of  interest  in  it  can  not  rightly  be  ascribed  to  any  con- 
stitutional or  acquired  lack  of  interest  in  that  which 
makes  for  the  general  welfare?  Is  it  strange  that  some 
of  these  appear  to  the  author,  at  least,  to  be  honest 
when  they  argue  that  they  ought  not  to  seem  to  sanc- 
tion, even  by  their  presence-,  gatherings  in  which  their 
most  clearly  God-given  rights  are  ignored,  if  not  denied? 
The  arguments  through  which  a  man  reaches  such 
conclusions  may  be  fallacious.  But  is  it  not  the  duty 
of  the  Church  to  remove,  as  fully  as  possible,  the  grounds 
on  which  they  are  based?  In  the  Middle  Ages,  when 
few  were  educated,  or  allowed  to  choose  their  own  ways 
of  work  or  of  government,  or  their  own  employers  or 
rulers,  the  present  traditional  methods  of  the  Church 
and  of  its  officials  accorded  with  those  of  other  con- 
temporary institutions.  But  is  it  so  to-day?  If  not, 
the  sooner  the  fact  is  recognized,  the  better.  Can  it 
be  recognized  in  such  ways  as  to  preserve  the  Church's 


FREE  THOUGHT  NOT  IRRELIGIOUS         183 

essential  character?  Can  sufficient  truth  to  attain  the 
ends  of  the  Christian  system  be  held  and  communicated 
in  such  ways  as  to  allow  every  spiritually  minded  man 
the  right  to  think  for  himself?  Or — to  express  the 
thought  in  another  form — can  we,  in  order  to  meet  the 
exigencies  of  our  own  day,  carry  out  the  principles  un- 
derlying the  Protestant  Reformation  to  their  logical 
conclusions  and  make  the  reform  complete?  We  cer- 
tainly can,  if  there  be  sufficient  warrant  for  accepting 
the  theory  presented  in  the  previous  chapters  of  this 
book.  We  can  not,  if  obliged  to  accept  the  theory 
held  by  most  of  the  churches  of  our  time  to  the  effect 
that  Christian  truth — i.e.,  the  truth  which  must  be 
accepted  by  all  whose  intellectual  opinions  can  be 
termed  Christian — can  be,  and  has  been,  exprest  in 
explicit  formulas  which  men  have  prepared  in  order  to 
interpret  it.  The  reasons  for  these  two  statements  are 
evident.  The  theory  that  truth  can  be  sufficiently  ex- 
prest when  left  indefinite  and  suggestive,  necessarily 
carries  with  it  the  inference  that  a  man's  thought  can 
be  stimulated  in  its  sources  so  as  to  move  toward  the 
right,  even  when  left  free  to  develop  itself  according 
to  the  dictates  of  his  own  intelligence.  The  theory 
that  truth  must  be  exprest  definitely  and  explicitly 
necessarily  carries  with  it  the  opposite  inference,  name- 
ly, that  a  man's  thought  will  not  move  toward  the  right 
unless  it  be  developed  in  accordance  with  the  domina- 
ting influence  of  some  external  constraint. 
Let  us  consider,  for  a  little,  this  latter,  which  may  be 


184         THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TIOJST 

said  to  be  the  theory  most  prevalent  at  present;  and, 
first,  something  with  reference  to  its  origin.  Concern- 
ing this,  ecclesiastical  history  does  not  leave  us  in 
doubt.  Creeds  originated  in  the  efforts  of  men  to 
obviate  the  supposed  evils  arising  from  the  differences 
of  opinion  natural  to  the  human  mind.  After  the 
death  of  Jesus,  the  apostles  and  their  followers  began  to 
think  about  that  which  he  had  said  to  them.  This  was 
right  on  their  part.  It  was  doing  that  for  which  their 
minds  had  been  made.  But,  after  a  little,  some  of 
them  began  to  fear  that  certain  logical  conclusions 
drawn  by  others  would  prove  detrimental  to  the  Chris- 
tian system.  What  then?  How  should  this  condition 
have  been  met?  Wrong  thinking  should  have  been 
corrected — not  so? — by  right  thinking.  The  only  ra- 
tional way  in  which  to  treat  one  who  questions  truth 
is  to  try  to  have  him  answered.  This  seems  to  have 
been  the  method  at  first  adopted  in  the  Church.  When 
the  Apostle  Peter  made  the  mistake — shown  by  the 
history  of  the  Church  to  have  been  a  mistake — of  sup- 
posing that  all  Gentiles  becoming  Christians  should  be 
circumcised — i.e.,  should  first  become  Jews — the  Apostle 
Paul  says  (Gal.  2; 7-21),  "I  withstood  him,  to  the  face," 
and  then  quotes  the  arguments  that  he  used.  Later, 
however,  Christians  changed  their  methods.  Instead  of 
trying  to  convert,  they  adopted  the  thoroughly  human 
method  of  trying  to  compel  their  antagonists.  Those 
with  one  opinion  claimed  to  be  the  only  genuine  Chris- 
tians, and  excommunicated  those  with  other  opinions. 


RELIGIOUS  INTOLERANCE  185 

At  first  the  former  merely  refused  to  have  dealings  with 
the  latter;  but  this  meant  much  in  an  age  when  already 
few  pagans  had  dealings  with  Christians.  A  century 
or  so  later,  when  certain  of  those  associated  with  one  or 
another  Christian  body  attained  political  power,  this 
power  was  used  against  its  opponents.  Finally,  after 
two  or  three  more  centuries,  those  whose  opinions  hap- 
pened to  be  reenforced  by  the  weapons  of  civil  authority 
succeeded  in  silencing,  through  persecution,  most  of 
those  inclined  to  think  for  themselves,  as  well  as  in 
accustoming  almost  all  others  not  to  think  at  all. 
Then,  for  well-nigh  eight  centuries,  the  world  had  ex- 
perience of  the  Dark  Ages. 

It  is  humiliating  to  some  of  us,  but  it  is  a  fact,  that 
these  were  owing  not  to  paganism  so  much  as  to  the 
form  of  Christianity  that  then  prevailed.  We  can 
recognize,  now,  that  the  methods  of  the  latter  were  as 
irrational  as  they  were  uncharitable,  excusable,  if  at 
all,  on  no  other  ground  than  that  of  the  limited  mental 
and  social  experience  of  the  ecclesiastical  officials.  Ex- 
ternal pressure  can  no  more  turn  the  current  of  a  man's 
thought  than  a  hand  can  turn  the  course  of  the  wind; 
nor  would  it  be  possible  in  any  church  for  a  sinner,  if 
first  induced  to  believe  it  to  be  a  sin  to  follow  his  own 
convictions,  to  be  converted  from  the  error  of  his  ways, 
no  matter  how  thoroughly  he  might  feel  convinced  of 
it.  The  Reformation  brought  a  change,  but  not  a 
complete  one.  Many  still  believe  that  truth  can  be  com- 
municated through  force — not  through  physical  force 


186         THE  PS YCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

necessarily — in  most  countries  sects  are  now  allowed— 
but  through  moral,  social,  or  national  force — force  which 
excludes  a  man,  because  he  differs  from  others  in  re- 
ligious opinion,  from  their  circles  or  privileges  in  eccle- 
siastical, domestic,  or  political  life. 

This  book  has  not  been  written  to  show  that  any  one 
of  these  creeds  is  true  or  untrue,  but  to  show  that  the 
use  of  all  is  unwise,  so  far  as  they  are  employed  as  tests 
to  indicate  who  is  or  is  not  a  Christian.  This  is  so  be- 
cause the  indefinite  expressions  of  the  Scriptures  which 
the  creeds  seek  to  render  definite  are  just  what  are 
needed  for  the  practical  influence  which  Christianity  is 
intended  to  have  upon  the  minds  and  lives  of  men  in 
general.  In  order  to  show  this,  let  us  look  at  certain 
subjects  of  thought  which  the  Scriptures  present  in- 
definitely and  the  creeds  definitely. 
.  It  is  natural  to  begin  with  what  the  Scriptures  say 
of  themselves — i.e.,  with  what  is  called  the  doctrine  of 
inspiration.  With  reference  to  this  as  to  other  sub- 
jects, some  Biblical  passages  seem  to  be  explicit.  For 
instance;  we  read  in  Rev.  22;  18,  "I  testify  unto  every 
man  that  heareth  the  words  of  the  prophecy  of  this 
book,  If  any  man  shall  add  unto  these  things,  God  shall 
add  unto  him  the  plagues  that  are  written  in  this  book, " 
and  a  like  imprecation  upon  him  who  "  Shall  take  away 
from  the  words."  It  is  by  no  means  certain,  however, 
that  these  statements  refer  to  any  but  the  Book  of 
the  Revelation,  or  that,  if  they  refer  to  the  whole  Bible, 
they  are  applicable  to  anything  more  than  to  the  pro- 


DOCTRINE  OF  INSPIRATION  187 

duction,  by  addition  or  subtraction,  of  spurious  Scrip- 
ture— of  that  which  is  represented  to  be  inspired  when 
it  is  known  not  to  be  so.  In  view  of  the  interests  in- 
volved, most  of  us  probably  would  agree  that  the 
punishment  threatened  the  author  of  this  is  not  too  great. 
The  most  unequivocal  statement  with  reference  to  in- 
spiration in  the  Bible  is  in  2  Timothy,  3;  16,  "All  Scrip- 
ture is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  profitable 
for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction 
in  righteousness."  Is  there  any  one  who  believes  in 
any  form  of  divine  inspiration  who  can  not  accept  this 
statement  exactly  as  it  stands?  But  human  minds  are 
so  constituted  that,  the  moment  such  a  passage  is  read, 
they  begin  to  speculate  about  it.  They  ask  how  does 
the  inspiration  of  the  Bible  differ  from  other  forms  of 
inspiration,  as  in  the  so-called  false  religions,  or  in  re- 
ligious or  secular  poetry?  They  ask  what  is  the  method 
of  the  inspiration — is  it  accomplished  through  divine 
superintendence,  or  direction,  or  suggestion? — when 
a  man  is  in  a  normal  or  in  an  elevated  condition  of 
mind? — with  his  powers  acting  consciously  or  uncon- 
sciously? Or  they  ask  what  is  the  extent  of  the  in- 
spiration? Does  it  apply  to  the  statements  of  physical 
or  historical  facts? — or  only  to  the  subjects  which  these 
facts  illustrate,  with  the  precepts  that  accompany 
them? — to  the  style  and  the  words,  or  only  to  the  sub- 
stance and  the  sense?  As  long  as  minds  exist,  men 
who  use  them  properly  can  not  avoid  arguing  such 
questions,  and  adhering  to  the  conclusions  to  which 


188         THE  PSYCIIOL OGY  OF  INRPIRA TION 

their  arguments  seem  logically  to  lead.  But  are  they 
justified  in  making  the  acceptance  of  their  own  con- 
clusions a  test  of  orthodoxy — of  that  which  a  man,  if  a 
Christian,  should  believe?  Does  not  the  very  fact  that 
they  are  conclusions  prove  that  they  can  not  be  reached 
except  by  one  whose  mind  has  passed  through  the 
processes  through  which  they  were  reached  by  the  first 
who  proclaimed  them?  If  so,  such  conclusions  can  be 
communicated  only  through  argument.  They  can  not 
be  communicated  through  authority  or  force,  physical 
or  moral.  For  any  church  to  attempt  to  communicate 
them  thus  is  to  attempt  the  impossible.  It  may, 
indeed,  secure  outward  assent,  but  to  try  to  obtain  this 
from  those  who  can  not  give  inward  consent  is  to  try 
to  habituate  large  numbers  of  such  as  can  not  avoid 
thinking  for  themselves  to  lip-service  and  hypocrisy. 
v  But  how  about  the  effect  of  such  methods  upon  those 
who  do  not  think  for  themselves,  or,  at  least,  not  suffi- 
ciently to  study  the  subject?  Strange  as  it  may  seem, 
the  methods  when  used  with  these  appear  to  have  no 
influence  at  all,  or  else  one  that  is  harmful.  Chil- 
dren need  theories  with  reference  to  inspiration  no  more 
than  with  reference  to  other  things.  Grown  people, 
whatever  they  may  be  told,  are  really  influenced  by 
inspiration  only  so  far  as  it  inspires.  With  them  any- 
thing inspiring  through  a  material  agency,  like  a  word, 
owes  its  influence  to  the  fact  that  the  statement  which 
appeals  to  the  outward  material  sense  appeals  also  to 
the  inward  mental  sense.  As  the  Bible  says,  "the 


DOCTRINE  OF  INSPIRATION  189 

things  of  the  Spirit  of  God  are  spiritually  discerned" 
(1  Cor.  2;  14);  "The  Spirit  itself  beareth  witness  with 
our  spirit77  (Rom.  8;  16).  If  anything  in  the  Bible 
fail  to  appeal  to  this  inward  sense,  a  man  may  declare 
and  fancy  that  he  believes  it  inspired,  but  it  does  not 
affect  him  as  if  it  were  so.  For  instance,  few  of  us, 
probably,  have  ever  known  any  man — no  matter  how 
orthodox  his  views  upon  inspiration — who,  merely  be- 
cause of  certain  passages  in  the  imprecatory  psalms, 
was  influenced  to  believe  that  vindictiveness  and  re- 
venge are  right.  In  some  way,  unconsciously  to  him- 
self, he  has  seemed  to  recognize  that  to  accept  the 
apparent  meaning  in  these  cases  would  involve  a  mis- 
understanding and  misinterpretation  of  the  mind  of  the 
Spirit.  On  the  contrary,  few  of  us,  probably,  have 
ever  known  any  one — no  matter  how  unorthodox  his 
views  upon  inspiration — whose  spirit  has  not  at  once 
yielded  assent  to  most  of  the  ideals  exprest  in  the  pre- 
cepts and  embodied  in  the  life  of  Jesus.  The  truth 
seems  to  be  that  the  Spirit  does  not  need  the  dictating 
of  human  teachers  robed  in  the  gowns  of  theologians  to 
the  extent  that  some  suppose,  being  abundantly  self- 
sufficient  when  appealing  to  the  human  spirit  without 
their  aid.  Nor  when  the  book  of  God  is  in  the  hands  of 
the  people  is  it  necessary  to  affirm  that  all  who  are  to 
be  rightly  influenced  by  it  must  accept  every  phrase 
of  it  as  infallibly  correct,  literally  as  well  as  suggest- 
ively. To  say  this  is  to  assert  what  few  honest  men 
can  investigate  long  enough  to  be  certain  that  they 


190         THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

believe,  and  what  very  many  must  reject  because  the 
surface-facts  do  not  seem  to  sustain  it.  Even  if  such 
men  accept  the  theory  nominally,  they  can  not  accept 
it  as  a  result  of  their  own  thinking,  and  therefore  not 
rationally.  Anything  accepted  not  rationally  is  ac- 
cepted irrationally,  and  if,  at  the  same  time,  it  be 
revered,  it  is  accepted  superstitiously.  Even  thus  ac- 
cepted, the  Bible  may  still  appeal  to  reason  in  part, 
because  it  is  full  of  thought;  but  it  will  appeal  in  part 
also  to  the  irrational,  and  therefore  have  something  of 
the  same  demoralizing  influence — tho,  perhaps,  almost 
infinitely  less  in  degree — as  is  exerted  on  the  pagan  by 
his  fetish. 

Now  let  us  pass  on  to  the  doctrine  of  the  personality 
of  God.  As  all  know,  many  make  much  of  this,  argu- 
ing it  from  the  innumerable  passages  in  the  Scriptures 
in  which  the  personal  pronoun  is  used  in  addressing 
the  Divine  Being  and  in  speaking  of  him.  Besides  this, 
it  is  argued  that  not  to  recognize  his  personality  lessens 
one's  sense  of  his  Fatherhood  and  sympathy,  as  well  as 
of  dependence  upon  him  and  responsibility  to  him. 
There  is  no  doubt  about  the  force  of  these  arguments, 
or  of  any  man's  right  to  present  them  to  others.  But 
how  about  influencing  one  to  accept  the  results  of  the 
arguments  by  making  them  a  test  of  religious  charac- 
ter and  eligibility  for  church-membership?  There  are 
those  whose  conceptions  of  God  are  best  exprest  in 
language  like  this:  "In  him  we  live  and  move  and 
have  our  being"  (Acts  17;  28);  "Whither  shall  I  go 


DOCTRINE  OF  A  PERSONAL  GOD  191 

from  thy  spirit?  or  whither  shall  I  flee  from  thy  pres- 
ence? If  I  ascend  up  into  heaven,  thou  art  there;  if 
I  make  my  bed  in  hell,  behold,  thou  art  there"  (Ps. 
139;  8,  9),  and  "One  day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand 
years,  and  a  thousand  years  as  one  day"  (2  Peter  3;  8). 
Some  who  hold  such  conceptions  find  it  difficult  to 
reconcile  them  with  the  limitations  which  seem  neces- 
sary for  personality.  Who  can  say  that  their  views 
introduce  into  thought  an  element  of  mystery  greater 
than  the  circumstances  warrant?  Who  can  say  that 
this  mystery  seems  too  great  to  allow  their  minds  to 
receive  truth  sufficient  for  the  practical  purposes  of 
Christianity?  To  think  that  God  can  not  be  limited 
as  in  personality  is  not  the  same  as  to  think  that, 
through  imagination,  the  same  Being  can  not  experi- 
ence what  personality  is,  or,  through  inspiration  and 
incarnation,  represent  it  to  human  beings.  If  what  is 
conceived  of  Him  be  inclusive  of  all  that  personality 
might  be  or  do,  what  more  is  necessary?  Besides  this, 
is  it  not  possible  for  a  too  narrow  conception  of  divinity 
to  do  harm?  What  else  can  be  affirmed  of  theories 
attributing  to  God  the  passions  and  motives  of  human 
beings;  or  of  theories  tending  toward  deism — i.e.,  the 
conception  of  a  God  existing  apart  from  nature,  phys- 
ical or  human;  or  tending  toward  idolatry;  i.e.,  the  con- 
ception of  a  God  existing  in  a  part  of  nature,  as  in  a 
picture  once  seen  over  a  shrine  in  southern  Germany? 
It  represented  Joseph,  Mary,  and  Jesus,  and  under  it 
was  inscribed,  "The  Trinity. " 


192        THE  PS YCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

Let  us  take  up,  now,  this  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  in- 
cluding that  of  the  nature  of  the  Christ.  The  only 
passage  in  the  Bible  explicitly  affirming  the  doctrine 
is  the  one  in  1  John,  5;  7:  "For  there  are  three  that 
bear  witness  in  heaven,  the  Father,  the  Word,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  these  three  are  one."  Without  ex- 
ception, it  is  said,  the  best  scholars  admit  that  this 
passage  is  an  interpolation.  It  is  not  in  the  original 
text.  This  fact,  however,  does  not  disprove  the  doc- 
trine, but  merely  removes  it  from  the  sphere  of  explicit 
statement  to  that  of  suggestion.  The  suggestion  is  de- 
rived from  observing  that,  in  the  Bible,  the  personal 
pronoun  is  used  when  quoting,  addressing,  or  mention- 
ing each  of  the  three — the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost;  and  that  each  is  reported  as  influencing, 
through  word  or  deed,  each  of  the  others.  Besides 
this,  certain  philosophers,  noticeably,  in  our  day,  those 
of  the  Hegelian  school,  argue  the  impossibility  of  con- 
ceiving of  a  deity  except  as  conscious  of  self,  of  non- 
self,  and  of  a  connection  between  these  two,  which,  in- 
terpreted in  terms  of  theology,  means  God  in  the 
spiritual,  or  the  Father,  God  in  the  natural,  or  the  Son, 
and  God  in  the  connection  between  the  two,  or  the  Holy 
Ghost.  See  also  what  is  said  on  this  subject  on  page 
129.  But  however  Scriptural  or  logical  such  con- 
clusions may  be,  few  men  are  exegetes  or  philosophers. 
Why  need  the  Church  insist  upon  having  all  accept  their 
conclusions?  There  certainly  are  reasons  why  some 
should,  at  least,  hesitate  to  do  so.  The  word  person, 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY  193 

as  applied  to  a  member  of  the  Trinity,  does  not  mean 
exactly  the  same  as  when  applied  to  an  earthly  being; 
and  a  man  who  recognizes  something  inexact  in  the 
word  may  be  merely  trying  to  be  true  to  the  operations 
of  his  own  mind.  Moreover,  the  word  unity,  as  applied 
to  the  Trinity,  does  not  mean  exactly  the  same  as  when 
applied  •  in  material  relations.  At  most,  it  can  mean 
only  spiritual  unity.  But  what  is  spiritual  unity? 
No  human  being  can  comprehend  this.  He  can  merely 
apprehend  what  it  may  be  through  using  an  illustra- 
tion from  analogy.  If  it  were  possible  for  several 
human  beings  to  think,  feel,  and  will  alike,  we  should 
say  that  they  were  animated  by  unity  of  spirit.  But 
some  one  reminds  us  that  this  is  not  a  fair  illustration, 
because  the  unity  of  the  Godhead  is  supposed  to  be 
organic.  What  then?  There  are  those  who  suppose 
that,  owing  to  subtile  conditions  existing  in  the  occult 
sphere,  all  spiritual  union,  even  that  between  men,  is 
organic.  But  this  supposition  can  not  be  proved.  No; 
neither  can  the  supposition  with  reference  to  the 
method  of  the  unity  of  the  Godhead.  So  long  as  the 
general  fact  of  Spiritual  unity  is  admitted,  need — not 
does,  but  need — the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  mean  more 
than  this?  Is  anything  more  demanded  to  cause  men 
to  recognize  all  that  is  claimed  of  the  Christ  as  repre- 
senting the  character  of  God  in  his  dealings  with  men, 
or  all  that  is  claimed  of  the  influence  of  the  Spirit  as 
coming  from  God?  Of  course  some  will  argue — and, 
if  they  believe  it,  should  argue — that  more  is  demanded; 


194        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

but  does  this  justify  them  in  forcing  conviction,  in  or 
out  of  the  Church,  through  modes  of  influence  other 
than  arguments?  Few  in  the  churches  have  any  clear 
view  of  the  meaning  of  the  Trinity;  and  the  endeavor 
to  demand  of  men  a  clear  view  has  done  much  harm, 
not  only  to  those  whom  it  has  kept  out  of  the  churches, 
and  of  all  connection  with  Christianity,  but  to  many 
who,  after  joining  Christian  churches,  have  found  them- 
selves doubting  their  creed.  Besides  this,  the  em- 
phasis given  the  doctrine  has  been  harmful  on  account 
of  false  conclusions  drawn  from  it.  Theologians  tell 
us  that  this  emphasis  does  not  interfere  with  the 
acceptance  of  the  doctrine  of  the  humanity  of  the 
Christ;  but  practically  it  does.  The  Mass  suggests  less 
fellowship  with  men  than  did  his  Last  Supper.  Again, 
notice  the  following  in  the  prayer  of  the  Christ  for  his 
disciples  (John  17;  21)  "that  they  all  may  be  one,  as 
thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also 
may  be  one  in  us";  and  again,  in  verse  22,  "The  glory 
which  thou  gavest  me  I  have  given  them,  that  they 
may  be  one  even  as  we  are  one."  How  can  this  prayer 
be  well  explained  so  long  as  a  church  so  emphasizes 
the  unity  of  the  Christ  with  God  as  to  exclude  the  pos- 
sibility of  the  conception  of  any  analogous  unity  be- 
tween the  Christ  and  men?  Can  there  be  any  doubt, 
either,  that  there  is  a  direct  connection  between  the 
unwarranted  exaltation  of  the  Christ  in  the  Mass — by 
which  is  meant  the  imitation  of  the  services  of  both 
the  Jewish  and  pagan  temples  introduced  into  the  wor- 


THE  IMMACULATE  CONCEPTION  195 

ship  at  the  altar — and  the  unwarranted  degradation  of 
manhood,  as  witnessed  in  the  denial  and  suppression 
of  social,  educational,  and  civil,  as  well  as  religious, 
rights,  which  have  characterized  all  countries  in  which 
the  unreformed  churches  have  had  unopposed  sway.* 
Is  it  not  significant  that  the  recent  changes  in  the  di- 
rections of  freedom  and  enlightenment  in  some  of  these 
latter  countries  have  been  accompanied  by  a  distinct 
lessening  of  the  influence  of  the  Church? 

But  how  is  it,  some  one  may  ask,  with  those  doctrines 
so  clearly  connected  with  that  of  the  Trinity — with 
those  that  concern  the  immaculate  conception  and  the 
incarnation? — are  these,  too,  stated  in  the  Bible  only 
suggestively?  Most  certainly  they  are;  and  in  a  sense 
still  more  apparent  than  is  true  of  the  doctrines  al- 
ready considered.  It  is  true  that,  in  the  Scriptures, 
the  Christ  is  repeatedly  termed  the  Son  of  God,  and 
that  his  coming  as  such  is  represented  as  having  been 
foretold,  and  as  having  been  voluntary  on  his  own 
part.  But  associated  with  these  representations  we 
have,  in  the  first  verse  of  the  first  chapter  of  Matthew, 
what  is  stated  to  be  "the  generation  of  Jesus  Christ."  f 

*  Contrast  merely  the  percentages  of  illiteracy  in  certain  countries  of  Europe, 
controlled  respectively  by  the  adherents  of  the  reformed  and  of  the  unreformed 
churches.  The  figures  are  taken  from  Appleton's  Universal  Cyclopedia  for  1906. 

German  Empire,  0.11  Netherlands,  5.40  Russia,  70.80 

Sweden  and  Norway,  0.11  England,  5.80  Portugal,  79. 

Denmark,  0.54  Italy,  38.90  Servia,  86. 

Finland,  1.60  Greece,  45.  Rumania,  89. 

Scotland,  3.57  Spain,  68.10 

fThe  ecclesiastical  explanation  of  this  is  that  it  refers  to  legal  parentage,  not 
to  paternity.  Yet  the  reading  of  Matt.  1;  16,  preferred  by  W.  G.  Allen  in  his 


196        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

What  is  it?  It  is  the  genealogy  of  Joseph,  and  of  him 
alone.  The  writer  of  this  genealogy  thought  either  that 
it  was  important  for  us  to  believe  Jesus  to  have  been 
the  son  of  Mary  alone,  or  he  did  not  think  so.  If  he 
had  thought  it  important,  he  would  not  have  given  us 
the  genealogy  of  Joseph  alone,  or  at  all.  He  gave  us 
this.  Therefore,  we  must  conclude  that  he  did  not 
think  the  belief  important.  Now  if,  in  the  perplexity 
in  which  this  first  verse  of  the  New  Testament  naturally 
plunges  us,  we  recall  one  fact,  we  may  have  the  per- 
plexity somewhat  lessened,  at  least.  The  Scriptures 
are  constantly  attributing  to  God  things  that  are  done 
by  men,  and  rightly,  too;  for  if  there  be  a  God,  he  must 
work  through  man  as  well  as  through  material  nature. 
If  we  bear  this  in  mind,  we  shall  perceive  that  it  need 
make  no  practical  difference  in  the  effect  upon  our 
lives  whether  we  consider  Jesus  to  have  been  miracu- 
lously conceived,  or  merely  at  the  time  of  his  birth  made 
what  he  was  by  the  Spirit;  or,  in  connection  with  one  or 
both  of  these,  or  even  with  neither,  taken  possession  of 
by  the  Spirit,  or,  as  the  theosophists  say,  a  Spirit  at 
one  with  God,  at  the  time  of  his  baptism  and  induction 
into  the  ministry,  as  indicated  in  Matt.  3;  16:  "And 
Jesus  when  he  was  baptized  went  up  straightway  out 
of  the  water;  and  lo,  the  heavens  were  opened  unto 
him"  (not  necessarily  unto  everybody)  "and  he  saw 
the  Spirit  of  God  descending  like  a  dove,  and  lighting 

"  Critical  and  Exegetical  Commentary"  on  this  Gospel,  is  that  of  the  Sinaitic 
Syrian  version,  which  is,  "Joseph,  to  whom  was  espoused  Mary,  a  virgin,  begat 
Jesus,  who  is  called  Christ.'' 


THE  PERSON  OF  CHRIST  197 

upon  him;  and  lo,  a  voice  from  heaven  saying,  This 
is  my  beloved  son  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased."  All 
these  theories  involve  the  conception  of  a  man  inspired 
from  the  highest  spiritual  source;  one  of  the  three  can 
be  accepted  by  any  one  who  believes  in  any  form  of 
inspiration,  from  that  represented  in  immaculate  con- 
ception to  that  reported  in  psychic  research.  It  is 
not  absolutely  necessary,  either,  that  one  should  have 
more  than  the  last  conception,  in  order  to  receive  the 
full  effects  of  the  work  of  the  Christ.  If  his  words  and 
works,  as  recorded  and  developed  historically,  appeal 
to  a  man  as  manifesting  the  highest  qualities  of  spiri- 
tual life,  this  man  will  be  forced — he  can  not  avoid  it — 
to  recognize  the  Christ  as  the  representative  on  earth 
of  divine  life.  What  more  than  this  simple  recognition 
is  needed  for  the  practical  results  and  purposes  of  the 
Christian  religion?  To  say  that  such  recognition  is 
sufficient  need  not  prevent  those  whose  minds  require 
more  from  accepting  the  most  extreme  views  and 
arguing  others  into  accepting  them.  But  it  does  tend 
to  prevent  the  use  of  the  machinery  of  the  Church  in 
order  to  force  all  men  to  accept  these  views.  In  pre- 
venting this,  it  tends  to  prevent  also  the  harm  which 
the  Church  may  do  through  such  a  course.  What  is 
this  harm?  The  causing  of  hundreds  of  thousands  to 
reject  Christianity  entirely,  because  they  have  been 
taught  to  think  that  the  whole  system  rests  upon  what 
they  conceive  to  be  a  myth  borrowed  from  heathen- 
dom— a  myth  because  it  is  something  which  no  one  can 


198       THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

now  prove ;  and  borrowed,  because  a  tale  exactly  like  it  is 
told  of  many  of  the  founders  of  many  other  religions.* 
The  recognition  of  the  sufficiency  of  the  broader  view 
would  prevent,  too,  that  lessening  of  the  uniqueness  of 
the  work  of  the  Christ  which  seems  necessarily  to  ac- 
company the  ascribing  of  immaculateness  not  only  to 
Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus,  but  also,  as  among  some,  to 
Anne,  the  supposed  mother  of  Mary. 

Now  let  us  pass  on  to  consider  what  the  Church  repre- 
sents as  to  the  nature  of  the  influence  exerted  by  each 
member  of  the  Trinity  upon  the  salvation  of  man. 
God,  the  Father,  we  are  told,  created  men,  knowing 
from  the  beginning  that  many  would  be  lost.  But  he 
elected  some  to  salvation.  That  he  might  save  these, 
yet  satisfy  his  inherent  sense  of  justice,  it  was  arranged 
that  the  Christ  should  come  to  earth  and,  taking  upon 
himself  the  punishment  that  men  deserved,  should 
suffer  and  die,  tho  not  eternally.  As  a  result,  God  was 
enabled  to  send  his  Spirit  to  dwell  with  those  for  whom 
the  Christ  died,  and  to  sanctify  and  redeem  them. 
Several  of  us  probably  have  known  personally  some  one 
who  has  declared  his  belief  that  no  one  can  be  saved 

*  This  is  a  statement  which  no  student  of  history  will  deny.  According  to 
Greek  or  Roman  mythology,  JLthlius,  Amphion,  Apollo,  Areas,  Aroclus,  ^Eolus, 
Bacchus,  Hercules,  Mercury,  Prometheus,  and  others  were  all  sons  of  Jupiter 
by  a  mortal  mother;  and,  at  least,  Perseus  and  Romulus,  by  a  virgin-mother. 
A  divine  father  and  a  virgin-mother  were  claimed  also  for  the  Indian  Krishna 
and  Buddha,  the  Siamese  Codom,  the  Chinese  Lao-tsze,  the  Egyptian  Horus, 
the  Persian  Zoroaster,  and  others.  The  early  Christian  writer,  Justin  Martyr, 
in  his  First  Apology  written  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  after  the 
time  of  the  Christ,  admits  all  this.  In  Chapter  XXI  he  says,  "You  know  how 
many  sons  your  esteemed  writers  ascribe  to  Jupiter";  and  in  Chapter  XXII, 
"If  we  even  affirm  that  he  was  born  of  a  virgin,  we  accept  this  in  common  with 
what  you  accept  of  Perseus,"  etc. 


THE  PLAN  OF  SALVATION  199 

unless  consciously,  or,  in  some  vague  way,  uncon- 
sciously, he  has  accepted  the  whole  of  this  doctrine  as 
thus  exprest.  The  doctrine  is  undoubtedly  suggested 
in  the  Bible.  But — and  this  explains  the  use  of  the 
word  suggested  rather  than  stated — the  opposite  of  the 
doctrine  is  just  as  clearly  suggested.  There  is  no  hint 
of  this  doctrine  in  the  parable  of  the  prodigal  son,  or  in 
such  a  passage  as  in  Acts  10;  35,  "In  every  nation  he 
that  feareth  him  and  worketh  righteousness  is  accepted 
with  him";  and  merely  a  hint  in  passages  more  to  the 
point,  like  1  Cor.  15;  22,  "As  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so 
in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive."  There  seem  to  be 
only  two  conclusions  which  can  be  drawn  from  these 
discrepancies:  first,  that  we  should  not  be  too  certain 
that  the  view  conforming  to  either  side  of  the  question 
is  unqualifiedly  correct,  and  so  should  not  be  too  dog- 
matic; and,  second,  that  both  views  probably  represent 
some  single  spiritual  principle  which  the  limitations 
of  human  language  have  caused  minds  having  a  vague 
conception  of  this  principle  to  represent  in  phrases 
or  figures  which,  if  interpreted  too  literally,  are  mis- 
leading. 

The  problem  of  salvation  seems  to  involve  this  ques- 
tion— how  can  a  man  whose  character  is  naturally 
formed  and  developed  by  the  material  be  developed  also 
by  the  spiritual,  and  ultimately  changed  into  a  spirit? 
That  man  is  naturally  developed  by  the  material  we  all 
know.  He  is  born  with  a  material  body.  He  learns 
by  using  eyes  and  ears  upon  material  surroundings. 


200       THE  PSYCH OL OGY  OF  TNSPIRA TION 

He  thinks — clearly  at  least — because  of  material  organs 
which  can  articulate  words  with  which  to  formulate 
and  separate  his  thoughts.  He  does  his  duty  because 
he  recognizes  his  relationships  to  material  objects  and 
being  about  him.  When  we  consider  how  spiritual 
influence  can  be  exerted  upon  him,  it  would  seem  that, 
according  to  this  law  of  his  nature,  such  influence,  too, 
should  be  exerted  in  part  through  the  material.  If 
the  object  be  to  develop  spiritual  character,  he  should 
be  able,  if  possible,  to  see  this  spiritual  character  em- 
bodied, and  exerting  influence,  through  a  material 
body. 

It  is  exactly  such  a  requirement  that  appears  to  be 
fulfilled  in  the  person  of  the  Christ  and  of  Christlike 
men.  In  the  case  of  the  Christ,  however,  it  seemed 
necessary  to  show  not  only  the  presence  of  the  spiritual 
in  the  material,  but  also  the  supremacy  of  the  one  over 
the  other.  How  could  this  be  done  better  than  by  a 
life  in  which  all  desires  connected  with  the  material,  in 
so  far  as  they  interfered  with  the  spiritual,  were  denied 
indulgence,  and  finally  sacrificed,  as  in  the  death  upon 
the  cross.  Nor  does  this  conception  of  the  influence 
of  the  Spirit  as  exerted  externally  through  example, 
and  therefore  exerted,  as  it  were,  indirectly,  interfere 
with  a  conception  of  its  influence  exerted  internally 
and,  as  it  were,  directly.  So  far  as  we  know,  in  this 
world,  the  two  methods  usually  accompany  each  other. 
What  is  seen  to  be  done  by  a  hero  upon  a  battle-field 
causes  his  followers  to  catch,  as  we  say,  his  spirit. 


A  LL  RELIGIONS  SIMILAR  201 

What  is  known  of  the  life  and  death  of  the  Christ  causes 
exactly  the  result  indicated  in  such  passages  as  in  John 
12;  32,  "I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all 
men  unto  me";  or  in  John  16;  7,  "If  I  go  not  away  the 
Comforter"  (i.e.,  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Inspirer)  "will 
not  come  unto  you;  but  if  I  depart,  I  will  send  him 
unto  you." 

It  is  apparently  by  carrying  to  what  seem  logical 
conclusions,  not  the  spiritual  significance,  but  the  ma- 
terial figures  representing  some  such  primary  principles 
as  these  that  theology  has  built  up  its  systems,  going 
into  details  with  reference  to  the  functions  of  each  per- 
son of  the  Trinity,  the  nature  of  divine  sovereignty, 
foreknowledge,  election,  effectual  calling,  perseverance 
of  the  saints,  and  so  on.  A  logical  mind  is  made,  of 
course,  to  be  logical.  It  is  merely  exercising  an  inborn 
right  when  it  is  so;  but  has  it  a  right  to  use  other  agen- 
cies than  argument  to  cause  other  minds  to  accept  its 
conclusions?  Are  not  primary  principles  about  all  that 
one  can  expect  the  ordinary  Christian  to  recognize?  Are 
they  not  all  that  the  great  majority  of  the  Christians 
about  us  actually  do  recognize?  If  so,  to  insist  upon 
having  all  recognize  what  only  a  few  are,  even  in- 
tellectually, prepared  to  accept,  is  practically  need- 
less. Besides  this,  it  is  harmful.  Hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  sermons  have  been  preached  in  many  of  our 
churches  to  show  that  people  need  not  become  fa- 
talists, or  doubt  the  love  of  God,  or  embrace  any 
one  of  a  dozen  other  conclusions  detrimental  to 


202        THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

Christian  life,  merely  because  certain  doctrines  of 
the  Church  seem  to  tend  toward  these  conclusions. 
Why  convey  the  impression  then  that  it  is  essential 
to  hold  the  doctrines  from  which  such  conclusions 
are  derived?  Of  course,  we  must  all  have  our  own 
theories  concerning  religion;  but  it  is  better  to  keep 
opinion  to  ourselves  than  to  be  selfishly  opinionated. 
We  should  all  be  logical;  but  we  should  also  bear 
in  mind  that  logic  is  merely  a  method,  a  method  too 
that,  if  applied  in  certain  cases,  may,  like  light,  bring 
others,  if  not  ourselves,  more  of  rottenness  than  of 
ripeness.  We  should  all  be  alert  to  correct  every  de- 
formity in  the  Christianity  about  us;  but  we  should 
remember  also  that  a  prudent  surgeon  drops  his  scalpel 
when  it  seems  to  imperil  life.  Too  much  in  the  theory, 
the  logic,  and  the  activity  of  Christianity,  as  developed 
in  our  times,  not  only  fails  to  influence  for  good  many 
who  think  that  they  believe  in  it,  but  causes  many, 
without  good  reason,  to  think  that  they  do  not  believe 
in  it. 

Among  this  latter  class  may  be  included  earnest 
seekers  for  truth  not  only  in  Christian,  but  in  non- 
Christian  countries.  "In  one  part  of  the  service  in 
your  temple,"  said  the  author  once  to  an  intelligent 
Buddhist  priest  of  Japan,  "  gates  were  opened  in  front 
of  a  small  shrine  in  which  was  an  image  of  the  Buddha. 
Were  your  people  worshiping  it"?  "No,"  was  an- 
swered; "the  Buddha  is  known  not  to  be  present  ex- 
cept in  spirit."  "But,"  said  the  questioner  again, 


ALL  RELIGIONS  SIMILAR  203 

"the  words  used  called  upon  the  Buddha  to  help  them." 
"Certainly/'  came  the  reply;  "the  Buddha  represents 
the  highest  attainment  possible  to  the  human  intellect. 
Any  one  more  intelligent  than  we  are  is  naturally 
wiser.  He  can  help  us.  Besides  this,  in  a  normal  de- 
velopment, any  one  with  the  highest  intelligence  must 
have  not  only  more  knowledge,  but  more  breadth  of 
view,  magnanimity,  spirituality,  as  you  Christians  say. 
The  Buddha  helps  us  spiritually."  Again,  a  Moham- 
medan once,  when  trying  to  explain  to  the  author  the 
conception  at  the  basis  of  his  religious  belief,  used  this 
illustration,  "If  I  do  what  you  want  of  me  in  my  coun- 
try, by  and  by  I  may  go  to  your  country.  There  I 
may  need  work,  possibly  food  and  clothing.  Then  I 
may  find  you,  and,  because  of  what  I  have  done  for 
you  here,  you  may  introduce  me,  say,  to  your  father, 
and  he  will  help  me.  Mohammed  introduces  us  to 
God."  Possibly  the  adherent  of  some  other  religion 
might  use  somewhat  similar  illustrations  to  indicate 
his  conception  of  the  work  done  for  him  by  its  leader. 
What  is  important  to  notice  is  that,  when  we  get 
down  to  the  bases  of  these  religions,  there  is  not  so 
much  difference  between  them  and  Christianity  as  we 
sometimes  suppose.  Merely  because  human  nature  is 
everywhere  the  same,  all  men  are  apt  to  believe  in 
some  form  of  mediation  that  brings  both  intellectual 
and  spiritual  help.  They  may  not  call  the  agent  of 
this  "the  Christ,"  or  "the  Lord";  but  we  should  not 
forget  that  it  was  the  Christ  himself  who  said  (Matt. 


204        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

7;  21),  "Not  every  one  that  saith  unto  me  Lord,  Lord, 
shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven;  but  he  that 
doeth  the  will  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven."  If 
the  thinkers  of  the  world,  either  in  Christian  or  in  non- 
Christian  communities,  are  ever  to  be  brought  into  com- 
plete harmony  with  the  Church,  it  will  be  because  of 
its  recognition  of  the  full  bearing  of  this  principle  upon 
doctrine  and  practise. 

One  word  more  now  about  that  from  which  salvation 
through  the  Christ  is  supposed  to  save  men.  Some 
deem  it  to  be  from  what  is  termed  eternal  punishment. 
But  what  does  this  mean?  The  Scriptures  can  not  be 
said  to  do  any  more  than  suggest  the  answer.  If  the 
future  state  be  one  of  progress,  the  man  who  has  failed 
to  avail  himself  of  his  advantages  in  this  life  will  be 
eternally  punished  if  eternally  kept  behind  the  degree 
of  development  attained  by  the  man  who  has  lived 
differently.  But  does  the  Greek  term  translated  eter- 
nal indicate  what  we  mean  when  we  use  the  English 
term?  Many  scholars  think  not,  and,  even  as  applied 
to  the  English  term,  if  by  the  " temporal"  be  meant  the 
" material,"  why  need  the  " eternal"  mean  any  more 
than  the  " spiritual"?  Even  the  mention,  in  Mark  9; 
44,  of  the  hell  "where  their  worm  dieth  not  and  the 
fire  is  not  quenched"  is  equivocal.  The  only  place  in 
which  these  conditions  could  be  fulfilled  literally  would 
be  in  a  material  world  like  our  own.  But  if  it  be  a 
description  of  a  material  world,  then  future  punish- 
ment means  reincarnation.  This  would  imply  some 


ETERNAL  PUNISHMENT  205 

hope  for  those  who  experience  it,  as  well  as  a  larger 
hope  for  those  who,  having  experienced  here  what  it 
is  for  spirits  to  be  in  prison,  wish  to  avoid  any  further 
experience  of  the  same  kind.  Perhaps,  on  the  whole, 
some  such  belief  would  be  consoling.  If  we  could  think 
that,  in  our  present  life,  we  are  being  punished  for  sin 
in  a  former  state,  many  of  the  mysteries  of  the  world 
would  be  solved;  and  some  of  us  would  be  much  more 
grateful  than  we  seem  to  be  at  present  to  recognize  that 
we  are  not  worse  off  than  we  are.  But  all  these  sub- 
jects are — why  should  they  not  remain? — subjects  of 
speculation.  No  one  view  of  them  is  necessary  for  the 
practical  purposes  of  Christianity.  In  his  saner  mo- 
ments, every  man  believes  that  all  sin  is,  must  be,  pun- 
ished by  its  influence  upon  his  conscience  or  his  sur- 
roundings, either  in  this  world  or  in  the  next.  Why 
should  the  Church  not  be  satisfied  with  this  general 
belief?  Why  should  the  harm  be  done  which  follows 
when  many  are  led  to  think  God  unjust,  while  yet  also 
a  being  to  be  worshiped  and  imitated;  to  say  noth- 
ing about  the  harm  done  when  the  officials  of  a  church 
attempt,  for  a  compensation,  to  furnish  a  certificate  to 
be  accepted  in  the  next  world  in  place  of  character,  as 
if,  forsooth,  it  were  not  true  that  "the  Lord  knoweth 
them  that  are  his"?  (2  Tim.  2;  19). 

The  thought  that  is  suggested  to  the  author  just  here 
would,  of  itself,  furnish  no  slight  confirmation — if  he 
still  needed  any — of  the  importance  of  the  general 
subject  treated  in  this  book.  The  thought  is  this: 


206        THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

that  very  many  of  his  readers  will  suppose  that,  by 
admitting  the  possibility  of  the  truth  of  many  of  the 
theological  tenets  that  have  been  mentioned,  he  is 
virtually  arguing  their  probability,  and  even  affirming 
their  certainty.  In  reality,  however,  he  is  doing,  and 
intending  to  do,  nothing  of  the  kind.  But  notice  the 
proof  that  the  existence  of  the  supposition  furnishes 
of  the  fact  that,  as  a  rule,  men  who  discuss  spiritual 
truth  are  expected  to  do  this  in  the  spirit  of  the  prop- 
agandist, absolutely  certain  that  one  peculiar  view  is 
right,  and  that  the  world  is  doing  wrong  in  not  recog- 
nizing it  to  be  such.  Why  is  it  that  men  appear  so 
certain  with  reference  to  spiritual  truth?  The  reason 
must  be  either  in  the  nature  of  this  truth  or  in  them- 
selves. It  can  not  be  in  the  nature  of  the  truth,  be- 
cause, according  to  all  serious  thinkers,  as  well  as 
writers  of  innumerable  theological  books,  nothing  is 
more  difficult  than  it  to  understand  or  to  apply. 
The  reason  for  the  apparent  certainty  must  be,  there- 
fore, in  the  men  themselves.  What  is  it  in  men  that 
causes  them  to  claim  to  know  with  certainty  that  which, 
owing  to  its  nature,  can  not  be  known  with  certainty? 
However  we  may  reply  to  this;  whether  we  ascribe  the 
condition  to  individual  self-esteem,  pretense,  or  hypoc- 
risy, or  to  the  associative  instincts  of  partizanship 
exerted  in  behalf  of  some  defensive  or  aggressive 
church,  the  answer  is  not  creditable  to  human  nature. 
No  man  is  dealing  fairly  with  his  fellows  who  is  adding 
the  weight  of  his  own  personality  to  the  side  of  the 


CERTAINTY  IN  RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS     207 

scale  in  which  he  is  supposed  to  be  putting  only  the 
truth.  When  will  the  millions  of  those  who  are  con- 
tinually doing  this — some  consciously  and  some  un- 
consciously— recognize  how  immeasurably  they  might 
advance  the  spiritual  enlightenment  of  those  about 
them  by  acknowledging  the  exact  facts  with  reference 
to  the  way  in  which  they  regard  their  creeds.  How 
do  they  do  this?  How  does  faith  regard  any  subjects 
which  are  at  the  basis  of  its  own  actions?  As  certain? 
No;  if  it  did  this  it  would  be  knowledge,  not  faith. 
It  regards  them  as  most  highly  and  rationally  probable, 
which  is  the  same  thing  as  to  say  that  it  accepts  them  as 
suggestively  but  not  indisputably  true.  This  being 
the  case,  how  unfortunate  it  is  that  almost  every  new 
theological  treatise,  ritual  or  even  hymnal,  should  seem 
to  vie  with  the  last  in  emphasizing  that  unfair  trait 
in  human  nature  which  practically  misrepresents  the 
conditions  which  it  professes  to  express! 

This  subject  has  some  very  practical  bearings.  The 
most  important  of  these  is  this — that  wherever  an  effort 
is  made  to  advance  any  kind  of  truth  through  methods 
that  involve  untruth,  as  when,  in  a  sermon  or  hymn, 
something  is  asserted  to  be  certain  which  is  felt  to  be 
merely  probable — then,  together  with  the  influence  of 
the  truth,  there  is  always  conveyed  some  influence  also 
of  the  untruth.  Several  years  ago,  the  author  was 
traveling  on  an  ocean  steamer.  One  Sunday  evening 
the  passengers  were  asked  to  assemble  in  the  saloon 
for  a  service  of  praise.  They  were  told  that  a  fellow 


208        THE  PSYCHOLOG  Y  OF  INSPIRA TION 

passenger,  a  young  Hebrew  student  of  music,  with  an 
exceptionally  fine  voice,  had  promised  to  lead  the  sing- 
ing. When  they  came  together,  they  found  that  those 
in  charge  of  the  music  had  not  selected  hymns  in  which 
all  could  honestly  join — hymns  of  general  praise*— 
but  those  giving  dogmatic  expression  to  the  most 
distinctively  orthodox  Christian  doctrines.  Think  of 
singing,  in  such  a  service,  a  hymn  of  adoration  to 
"God  in  three  persons,  blessed  Trinity,"  or  hymn  170 
in  the  Presbyterian  Hymnal,  "God  of  God,  Light  of 
Light,  lo,  he  abhors  not  the  virgin's  womb,  very  God, 
Begotten  not  created,  0  come  let  us  now  adore  him." 
Yet  probably  these  people,  as  lacking  in  Christian 

*Like  those  beginning  with  the  lines,  "My  God,  how  endless  is  thy  love"; 
"Sweet  is  the  work,  my  God,  my  king";  "Lord  of  all  being,  throned  afar"; 
"Nearer,  my  God,  to  thee";  "The  spacious  firmament  on  high";  "All  people 
that  on  earth  do  dwell";  "O  bless  the  Lord,  my  soul";  "O  worship  the  Lord,  all 
glorious  above";  "Through  all  the  changing  scenes  of  life";  "O  God,  our  help 
in  ages  past";  "Begin,  my  tongue,  some  heavenly  theme";  "When  all  thy 
mercies,  O  my  God";  "Gracious  Spirit,  love  divine";  "He  that  goeth  forth 
with  weeping";  "Teach  me,  my  God,  my  king";  "Father,  whate'er  of  earthly 
bliss";  "I  love  to  steal  away";  "Hail  to  the  brightness  of  Zion's  glad  morning"; 
"Come,  ye  disconsolate";  "To-morrow,  Lord,  is  thine";  "Gently,  Lord,  O 
gently  lead  us";  "My  soul,  be  on  thy  guard";  "The  King  of  Love  my  shepherd 
is";  "God  is  my  strong  salvation";  "While  thee  I  seek  protecting  power"; 
"Guide  me,  O  thou  great  Jehovah";  "Lead,  kindly  light";  "In  heavenly  love 
abiding";  "Thy  way,  not  mine,  O  Lord";  "He  leadeth  me,  O  blessed  thought"; 
"God  is  the  refuge  of  his  saints";  "My  God,  my  Father,  while  1  stray";  "God 
moves  in  a  mysterious  way";  "The  Lord  my  shepherd  is";  "Your  harps,  ye 
trembling  saints";  "My  times  are  in  thy  hands";  "How  gentle  God's  com- 
mands"; "My  God,  the  spring  of  all  my  joys";  "My  God,  is  any  hour  so  sweet?" 
"Prayer  is  the  soul's  sincere  desire";  "O  thou  that  hearest  prayer";  "As  pants 
the  heart  for  cooling  streams";  "I  do  not  ask,  O  Lord,  that  life  may  be";  "My 
God,  permit  me  not  to  be";  "'Tis  by  the  faith  of  joys  to  come";  "Beyond  the 
smiling  and  the  weeping";  "One  sweetly  solemn  thought";  "O  mother,  dear 
Jerusalem";  "Forever  with  the  Lord";  "O,  where  shall  rest  be  found?"  "Brief 
life  is  here  our  portion";  "Jerusalem,  the  golden";  "There  is  a  land  of  pure 
delight";  "O  God,  beneath  thy  guiding  hand";  "O  Lord  of  hosts,  almighty 
King";  "God  bless  our  native  land";  "My  country,  'tis  of  thee";  "Day  by  day, 
the  manna  fell,"  etc. 


IRRELIGION  IN  WORSHIP  209 

courtesy  as  in  character,  thought  that  they  were  doing 
a  religious  deed  in  making  this  young  Hebrew,  on  ac- 
count, too,  of  his  own  good  nature,  give  a  distinctly 
dishonest  expression  to  his  own  sentiments.  It  is  not 
often  that  persons  of  so  widely  divergent  views  at- 
tempt to  worship  together.  It  is  not  often,  therefore, 
that  a  supposed  religious  service  involves  so  much  that 
is  irreligious.  But  when  we  think  of  the  necessary 
differences  in  the  premises,  reasonings,  and  conclusions 
of  human  minds,  even  if  all  be  Christians,  can  we  be 
certain  that  many  of  the  services  held  exclusively  for 
them  are  entirely  free  from  a  tendency  to  the  same 
form  of  irreligion;  or  that  the  Church  itself  is  wholly 
without  blame  for  this?  Can  we  be  certain,  either, 
that  those  who  are  striving  for  the  unity  of  Christen- 
dom while,  at  the  same  time,  advocating  a  more  strict 
acceptance  by  all  men  of  the  rites  and  creeds  of  their 
own  branch  of  the  Church  are  aiming  at  any  result 
that  is  desirable?  What  is  desirable  seems  to  be  the 
conforming  of  all  spiritual  methods  to  the  requirements 
of  spiritual  truth,  the  very  nature  of  which,  as  has 
been  shown,  necessitates  its  being  communicated  not 
dogmatically,  but  suggestively.  Only  when  these  re- 
quirements have  been  fulfilled  can  we  have  any  reason- 
able expectation  that  the  Church  will  be  able  also  to 
conform  its  methods  to  the  demands  of  the  mature  and 
rational  mind  which  it  should  seek  to  influence,  or  to 
what  we  have  every  reason  to  believe  to  have  been  its 
practise  during  its  earliest  and  most  efficient  period. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH  AS  AFFECTED  BY  CONSIDERING 
SPIRITUAL  TRUTH  SUGGESTIVE 

The  Church  Not  an  End  but  a  Means— The  Church  Intended  to  Influ- 
ence Opinion,  Inclination,  and  Conduct— Opinion  Most  Influenced 
Not  by  Authority,  but  by  Thought — Illustrations  from  History — 
Same  Principle  Applied  to  the  Influence  Exerted  Upon  Belief  by 
the  Numbers  Attending  Any  One  Church  — Or  Exerted  Upon 
Expressions  of  Belief— External  Unity  of  the  Church  May  Be  Det- 
rimental to  Influence  of  Thought  as  Thought — Influence  of 
Thought  as  Thought,  Aside  from  the  Influence  of  Authority  Upon 
Christian  Opinion— And  Upon  Conduct— Reasons  for  This— The 
Conception  of  the  Church  Which  Harmonizes  with  the  Testimony 
Afforded  by  Historic  Christianity  —  By  the  Primitive  Church  — 
Enforced  Unity  of  the  Church  Is  Not  the  Spiritual  Unity  of 
Christians — Nor  Is  It  Made  Prominent  Where  the  Church  is  Grow- 
ing—  The  Church  as  Influencing  Inclinations  Through  Rites  or 
Rituals— Worship  Can  Not  Be  Exprest  Through  Argumentative 
or  Dogmatic  Language — Neglect  of  This  Principle  in  English 
Cathedrals — In  Assemblies  of  Those  of  Divergent  Views — Principle 
Applied  to  Hymns— To  Prayers  and  Repetitions  of  Creeds  — The 
Church  in  Influencing  Conduct  is  Sometimes  Dictatorial,  Some- 
times Prohibitive,  but  Usually  Negative— The  Christianity  of  the 
Christ  is  Positive— The  Christian  Must  Do  More  Than  Seek  His 
Own  Salvation — Development  in  the  Church  of  the  Feeling  of  In- 
dividual Responsibility— Further  Developments  to  Be  Expected  in 
the  Future— These  Theories  Not  Due  to  Lack  of  Appreciation  of 
the  Work  of  the  Church. 

The  trend  of  thought  in  the  chapter  just  closed  may 
incline  some  to  infer  that  the  author  underestimates 
the  importance  and  influence  of  the  Christian  Church. 
But  need  this  inference  follow?  The  answer  will  de- 
pend— will  it  not? — upon  one's  conception  of  the  ob- 
ject of  the  Church.  We  can  imagine  certain  very  worthy 

.210 


THE  CHURCH  A  MEANS,  NOT  END         211 

people  greatly  elated  and  singing  almost  endless  dox- 
ologies  in  view  of  Church-unity  brought  about  through 
the  method  which  is  discredited  in  the  concluding 
paragraph  of  the  preceding  chapter.  But  we  can  also 
imagine  others,  equally  religious  and  conscientious, 
who,  the  day  after  unity  had  been  thus  obtained,  and 
because  it  had  been  thus  obtained,  would  consider  it 
their  duty  to  start  a  new  schism.  No  schism  can  be 
started  except  as  it  starts  what  is  claimed  to  be  a 
church.  Apparently,  therefore,  they  would  believe  in 
a  church  as  fully  as  would  those  from  whom  they  had 
separated.  To  a  certain  extent,  too,  both  parties  would 
agree  in  their  conception  of  the  character  and  function 
of  the  Church.  Both,  for  example,  would  consider  it 
an  external  organization;  but  the  one  would  look  upon 
this  as  an  end,  and  the  other  as  a  means.  Otherwise 
the  one  would  not  make  so  much  of  organic  unity  nor 
the  other  so  little.  Some  think  that  when  the  Church 
organization  is  considered  an  end  there  is  danger  of 
its  arousing  sentiments  analogous  to  those  finding  ex- 
pression in  class-feeling,  partizanship,  and  patriotism, 
all  of  which  have  important  uses  in  life,  but,  neverthe- 
less, have  more  or  less  tendency  toward  that  narrow 
and  selfish  view  of  the  supreme  importance  of  oneself 
and  his  environment  which  leads  a  man  to  plan,  in 
everything  that  is  done,  first,  for  his  own  set,  for  his 
own  party,  or  for  his  own  country,  right  or  wrong.  On 
the  contrary,  when  the  Church  organization  is  consid- 
ered a  means,  this  very  fact  seems  to  subordinate  such 


212        THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

sentiments  to  the  study  of  methods  needed  in  order  to 
elevate  the  condition  of  every  man,  even  tho  a  stranger, 
opponent,  or  alien,  simply  because  it  is  felt  that,  by 
the  ties  of  a  common  humanity,  this  man  is  related  to 
every  other  man,  and  so  to  oneself.  Which  conception 
of  the  Church  has  the  warrant  of  the  Scriptures? 
Would  it  not  be  as  difficult  to  find  a  single  passage  in 
them  unequivocally  suggesting  the  former  as  it  would 
be  to  find  one  not  unequivocally  suggesting  the  latter? 
For  instance,  take  Heb.  10;  24,  25,  "Let  us  con- 
sider one  another  to  provoke  unto  love  and  to  good 
works,  not  forsaking  the  assembling  of  ourselves  to- 
gether, as  the  manner  of  some  is,  but  exhorting  one 
another."  It  is  certainly  not  the  organization  as 
such,  nor  the  officials  of  the  organization,  that  are 
emphasized  in  this,  any  more  than  is  the  case  in  the 
passage  in  James  5;  16  and  17,  "Confess  your  faults 
one  to  another  and  pray  one  for  another.  .  .  .  The 
effectual,  fervent  prayer  of  a  righteous  man  availeth 
much."  We  can  scarcely  imagine  a  modern  priest  of 
any  high  Church  quoting  to  his  congregation  such  pas- 
sages as  these  without  qualification  and  explanation. 
And  if  not,  why  not?  Which  is  more  likely  to  be 
wrong,  the  conception  exprest  in  the  Scriptures  or  in 
in  the  utterance  of  the  modern  priest? 

Whether  considered  as  a  means  or  an  end,  we  shall 
find  the  Church  designed  to  influence  men  in  three 
directions — that  of  opinion,  of  inclination,  and  of  con- 
duct, each  respectively  having  mainly  to  do  with 


DOCTRINAL  INFLUENCE  OF  THE  CHURCH    213 

thought,  with  feeling,  and  with  will.  Opinion,  at 
least  religious  opinion,  is  mainly  affected  by  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Church;  inclination  by  its  methods  of 
worship,  or  its  services,  as  they  are  termed;  and  con- 
duct by  its  discipline.  At  the  same  time,  no  ecclesi- 
astical agencies  seem  intended  to  influence  the  mind  in 
any  one  of  these  directions  alone.  The  sacraments,  for 
instance,  are  supposed  to  have  effects  in  the  direction 
of  both  worship  and  discipline,  tho,  at  present,  it  might 
be  said  that  they  are  chiefly  directed  toward  empha- 
sizing doctrine.  This  is  owing  to  a  method  sometimes 
termed  "  fencing  the  ordinances."  To  this  phrase  and 
the  purpose  represented  by  it  there  could,  of  course,  be 
no  objection  in  case  nothing  were  attempted  further 
than  to  prevent  a  misunderstanding  of  the  meaning  of 
the  ordinances  and  to  promote  an  intelligent  use  of 
them.  But  much  more  than  this  is  attempted.  In 
many  churches,  rites  like  those  accompanying  the  Lord's 
Supper,  baptism,  confession,  burial,  and  marriage  are 
administered  to  or  for  those  alone  who  have  given 
assent  to  certain  dogmas  having  to  do  with  the  organiza- 
tion's general  theories,  but  not,  except  very  remotely, 
with  these  rites  themselves.  Through  means  of  them 
and  the  natural  desire  of  the  people  to  share  in  what- 
ever benefits  may  be  supposed  to  attend  them,  the 
Church  endeavors  to  enforce  upon  its  members  its 
whole  theological  system.  The  same  endeavor  is  made 
also,  but  less  directly,  through  the  teaching  of  its 
catechisms  and  the  enjoining  of  the  public  repetition  in 


214        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

its  assemblies  of  its  creeds,  hymns,  and  rituals.  The 
general  influence  thus  exerted  we  may  term  that  of 
ecclesiastical  authority. 

Now  let  us  ask  what  is  the  actual  effect  of  the  en- 
forcement by  the  Church  of  such  authority?  Does  it 
furnish  the  most  successful  way  of  influencing  opinions? 
Of  course,  the  majority  of  men  think  that  it  does. 
Otherwise,  our  leading  churches  would  not  almost  uni- 
versally employ  it.  But  are  the  views  of  the  majority 
correct?  When  authority  sets  out  to  influence  opinion, 
exactly  what  are  its  effects?  Undoubtedly,  to  em- 
phasize that  which  it  proclaims.  Moreover,  because 
this  is  emphasized,  almost  all  children,  many  women, 
and  some  men  may  suppose  that  they  accept  it  as  their 
own  opinion.  But  let  us  consider  the  subject  a  mo- 
ment. Opinion  is  an  inference  derived  from  thought, 
and  thought  is  that  of  which  we  become  conscious 
through  thinking.  Authority  may  dictate  to  a  mind 
that  which  is  the  opinion  of  others ;  but  this  opinion  can 
not  become  the  mind's  own,  unless  this  mind  be  fur- 
nished with  facts  and  proofs  which  can  cause  it,  as  a 
result  of  its  own  thinking,  to  draw  the  inference  which 
the  opinion  expresses.  Otherwise,  if  mere  authority 
be  exercised,  wholly  aside  from  that  which  only  can 
legitimately  influence  thinking,  one  of  two  things  will 
happen:  either  the  mind  will  disregard  authority  and 
think  for  itself,  or  else  it  will  submit  to  authority  and 
not  think  at  all — at  least,  about  the  subject  which 
authority  has  tried  to  make  it  accept.  In  neither  case 


DOCTRINAL  ECCLESIASTICISM  215 

has  authority  been  successful  in  influencing  opinions— 
in  the  former  case,  because  it  has  awakened  thoughts 
leading  away  from  the  opinions  which  it  would  en- 
force ;  in  the  latter  case,  because  it  has  supprest  thoughts, 
substituting  for  rational  acknowledgment  of  facts  or 
proofs  mere  prejudice,  and  introducing  for  the  govern- 
ing principle  of  mind  bigotry,  superstition,  or  fanati- 
cism. Only  in  the  degree  in  which  authority  exerts  its 
influence  as  an  agency  subordinated  to  the  purpose  of 
making  men  think  about  that  which  is  presented  can 
their  minds  be  permanently  influenced  by  it. 

We  find  these  facts  illustrated  in  the  histories  of  the 
Church  in  all  countries.  In  the  Middle  Ages — as  is 
true  in  some  communities  to-day — the  influence  of 
religion  upon  prejudice  was  enormous,  but  its  influence 
upon  thought  was  barely  perceptible.  The  people, 
when  driven  by  their  priests,  could  hardly  be  said  to 
be  actuated  by  thought  any  more  than  the  beasts  of 
burden  when  driven  by  the  people.  Yet  who  can  deny 
that  not  to  be  actuated  by  thought  is  not  to  be  actuated 
by  mind  which  God  has  made  supreme  in  man?  It  is  no 
wonder  that,  in  individual  conduct  and  in  general 
civilization,  there  should  have  been,  in  those  times, 
and  is  in  those  communities  now,  very  little,  either  in 
private,  social,  or  civic  life,  of  what  Paul,  in  Gal.  5;  22, 
terms  the  fruit  of  the  spirit — love,  joy,  peace,  long- 
suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness,  and 
temperance.  On  the  other  hand,  in  every  age  in  which 
Christianity  has  made  great  advances,  whether  in 


216       THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

the  first  centuries  of  the  Christian  era,  in  the  reforma- 
tion of  the  sixteenth  century,  or  in  the  missionary 
enterprise  of  the  nineteenth,  it  has  done  so  with  scarcely 
any  help  at  all  from  the  exertion  of  authority — simply 
through  presenting  thought  to  the  thinking  mind. 

But  it  may  be  asked  whether  the  fact  that  certain 
phases  of  opinion  are  accepted  by  large  numbers,  many 
of  whom  are  intelligent  and  influential,  does  not,  of 
itself,  affect  the  thoughts  of  those  whom  the  Church 
seeks  to  influence?  Most  certainly  it  does.  In  such 
cases,  the  presumption  always  is  that  the  phase  of 
opinion  which  appeals  to  so  many  of  this  character 
can  not  but  be  important.  Very  well,  then,  it  may  be 
added,  the  condition  indicated  is  exactly  that  of  the 
Church.  Why,  therefore,  should  this  not  seek  to  reen- 
force  its  doctrines  through  the  influence  of  the  number 
and  character  of  its  members?  Who  has  said  here  that 
it  should  not?  But  there  are  different  ways  in  which 
this  kind  of  influence  may  be  exerted.  These  may  be 
illustrated  by  recalling  those  which  may  be  adopted  by 
a  political  party.  The  party  may  organize,  hold  meetings, 
have  processions,  and  call  attention  to  its  principles  by 
conducting  what  is  termed  a  campaign  of  education, 
through  such  methods  making  an  appeal  to  thought, 
and  seeking  to  lead  the  people,  through  an  exercise  of 
their  own  intelligence,  to  accept  the  truth  of  which  they 
have  been  convinced;  or,  on  the  other  hand,  the  party 
may  make  its  appeal  merely  to  the  spirit  of  comrade- 
ship— to  that  which  causes  men  to  join  with  their 


RELIGIO  US  A  UTHORITY  AND  THINKING  217 

friends,  and  to  go  with  the  crowd.  So  far  as  the  latter 
method  and  it  alone  is  pursued,  success  results  because 
of  preventing  the  people  from  thinking  about  the  real 
issues.  But  in  case  they  need  to  think  about  these;  in 
case  they  be  called  upon  to  vote  on  questions  especially 
demanding  an  exercise  of  mind,  is  it  not  easy  to  per- 
ceive that  any  large  success  in  the  campaign,  tho  no 
dishonesty  were  practised  in  it,  would  be  detrimental 
to  the  interests  of  the  country?  And  if  this  sort  of 
campaign  can  not  be  justified  in  politics,  how  can  it,  in 
the  least  degree,  be  justified  in  religion,  the  whole  ob- 
ject of  which  is,  or  should  be,  to  influence  the  thought- 
ful side  of  a  man's  nature?  The  influence  of  the  Church 
is  not  legitimately  employed  except  when  emphasizing 
phases  of  opinion  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  a  man  ex- 
ercise his  own  thought  with  reference  to  them.  Any 
method  of  presenting  them  of  such  a  kind  as  to  suppress 
a  man's  reasoning  faculties  is  not  above  the  level  of 
witchcraft,  which,  before  psychic  subjects  had  been 
studied  scientifically,  was  considered  and,  sometimes, 
as  judged  from  its  effects,  rightly  considered  essentially 
Satanic. 

Almost  equally  injurious  is  an  influence  upon  a  man's 
thoughts  so  exerted  as  to  prevent  any  expression  of 
them.  The  world  can  not  afford  to  lose — no  institution 
has  a  right  to  deprive  it  of — such  results  of  private  in- 
telligence as  may  add  to  the  intelligence  of  the  com- 
munity. But,  as  we  all  know,  this  is  the  exact  effect 
often  produced  by  the  undue  exercise  of  authority  on 


218       THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

the  part  of  the  Church,  whether  the  result  of  this  be 
an  influence  exerted  directly  or  indirectly.  The  author 
once  boarded  at  the  same  house  with  a  naval  attache  of 
the  Spanish  legation  in  London.  This  man  was  al- 
ways arguing  against  the  Catholic  Church,  insisting, 
for  instance,  that  its  rapid  growth  in  the  United  States 
presaged  the  speedy  overthrow  of  our  free  institutions. 
Nevertheless,  he  attended  regularly  the  services  of  this 
Church  in  London,  his  exprest  reason  for  doing  so  being 
that,  if  he  did  not,  he  should  lose  social  standing  among 
those  of  his  own  country  with  whom  he  was  obliged  to 
associate.  Here  was  a  very  mild  phase  of  indirect  in- 
fluence, but  nevertheless  exerted  so  as  to  prevent  an 
exceptionally  intelligent  man  from  expressing  in  con- 
duct the  results  of  his  own  thinking — in  other  words, 
from  exerting  his  own  intelligence  in  such  a  way  as  to 
add  to  the  intelligence  of  the  community.  It  is  ex- 
actly the  kind  of  influence  that  has  been  produced  in 
every  age  and  country  in  which  has  been  experienced 
that  so-styled  blesse'd  consummation  which  some  have 
in  mind  when  they  pray  for  the  unity  of  Christendom. 
Wherever  there  has  been  one  church,  there,  on  ac- 
count of  the  intrinsic  selfishness,  narrowness,  and 
tyranny  of  its  masses,  as  well  as  of  its  rulers,  there  has 
been,  on  the  part  of  many  of  its  ablest  men — those  best 
able  to  use  their  own  minds — a  seething  mass  of  self- 
seeking  calculation,  moral  cowardice,  chronic  hypocrisy, 
and  habitual  falsehood,  with  all  the  lack  of  integrity 
and  intrinsic  morality  in  eveiy  direction  which  neces- 


RELIGIO  US  CONFORMITY  DEMORALIZING    219 

sarily  finds  expression  in  one  who  dare  not  obey  his 
conscience,  or  be  an  enthusiastic  devotee  of  the  truth 
as  he  himself  perceives  it.  On  the  contrary,  in  the  de- 
gree in  which  the  conception  of  one  church  as  a  single 
external  body,  with  one  set  of  dogmas  and  rulers  having 
authority  over  opinion  and  conscience,  has  declined, 
in  that  degree  has  the  effect  upon  religious  life  of  such 
influences  as  are  merely  social,  political,  or  partizan 
declined;  in  other  words,  in  that  degree  has  truth  been 
left  to  appeal  to  men  merely  as  truth,  and  thought 
merely  as  thought.  No  one  can  overestimate  the 
practical  benefit  of  this  result.  To  it  is  due  almost  all 
the  progress  of  the  world  in  either  education,  sociology, 
or  government  since  the  sixteenth  century.  It  is  not 
denied  by  any  historian  that  this  progress  was  first 
developed  in  the  countries  of  Northern  Europe,  and 
among  those  who  emigrated  from  them  to  America. 
It  was  in  these  countries  in  which  men's  general  con- 
ception of  the  Christian  Church  was  no  longer  con- 
founded with  that  of  a  single  external  organization 
that  thought  was  first  allowed  to  exert  the  legitimate 
influence  of  thought  upon  the  mind  of  the  indi- 
vidual.* 

Has  the  influence  thus  exerted  been  detrimental  to 
the  effect  of  Christianity  upon  opinion  and  conduct? 
Does  not  this  to-day  in  these  Protestant  countries  ex- 
ert as  much  influence  as  it  does  in  non-Protestant  coun- 
tries upon  public  legislation  and  private  character? 

*  See  note  on  page  195. 


220        THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

Would  not  the  statement  that  the  Christian  sentiment 
of  a  nation  demanded  a  certain  measure  have  more 
weight  with  more  legislators  in  Great  Britain  or  in  the 
United  States  than  it  would  in  France  or  in  Italy? 
Certainly,  in  the  former  countries,  in  which  virtually 
all  men,  by  the  very  force  of  circumstances,  have  been, 
as  it  were,  compelled  to  acknowledge  that  many  differ- 
ent external  organizations  may  be  legitimate  develop- 
ments of  the  Church  of  the  Christ,  no  legislator  would 
dream  of  opposing  any  measure,  as  is  frequently  done 
in  other  countries,  merely  because  of  its  being  advo- 
cated by  Christians.  "  At  the  head  of  the  Government 
of  this  country,"  said  Father  Eugene  Hannan,  of  St. 
Martin's  Catholic  Church,  Washington,  D.  C.,  as 
reported  in  The  Evening  Star,  December  17,  1906,  "are 
Christian  gentlemen,  but  it  is  not  so  with  the  French 
republic.  They  are  unchristian  and  atheistic  and  hate 
the  name  of  God."  "I  am  weighing  my  words,"  said 
Cardinal  Gibbons,  the  head  of  the  Catholic  Church  of 
the  United  States,  in  a  statement  prepared  by  him  and 
published  in  most  of  the  papers  of  America  and  Europe 
on  December  14, 1906 — "I  am  weighing  my  words,  and 
say,  with  deliberate  conviction,  that  the  leaders  of  the 
present  French  Government  are  actuated  by  nothing 
less  than  hatred  of  religion.  We  have  no  spirits  akin 
to  these  in  this  country.  We  have  here  much  indiffer- 
ence to  religion;  but  we  have  no  body  of  men,  no  great 
party  that  makes  it  a  chief  aim  to  weaken  the  power  of 
religion,  and,  if  possible,  utterly  to  destroy  it  out  of 


RELIGIOUS  CONFORMITY  AND  UNBELIEF   221 

the  land.  But  in  France  the  Jacobin  party  is  not  dead. 
Their  spirit  is  as  living  to-day  as  it  was  in  the  last 
decade  of  the  eighteenth  century.  They  hate  God ;  they 
hate  Christ;  they  hate  his  religion.  And  yet  the  ut- 
terances of  such  men  are  received  as  unsuspectingly 
by  many  Americans  as  would  be  a  discourse  by  Mr. 
Cleveland,  Mr.  Roosevelt,  or  Mr.  Taft — men  who 
recognize  the  powerful  influence  religion  has  in  pro- 
moting the  welfare  of  society  ...  It  is  easy  to  show 
that  I  am  not  misrepresenting.  .  .  .  Let  me  give  you 
a  few  examples  of  the  language  of  these  men  and  you 
can  judge  if  the  American  people  have  ever  heard  any- 
thing similar  from  their  own  leaders,  or  if  any  American 
statesmen  would  dare  to  utter  such  statements.  What 
would  we  Americans  say  if  a  Cabinet  officer  were  to 
propose  this?"  etc.  Such,  according  to  the  testimony 
of  the  primate  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  America,  is  the 
condition  in  France  three  or  four  hundred  years  after 
the  too  nearly  successful  attempt  to  suppress  religious 
non-conformity  in  that  country  through  the  killing  or 
banishing,  so  far  as  possible,  of  all  the  Huguenots.  The 
proportion,  too,  of  the  people  of  France  who  are  willing 
to  be  led  by  the  element  which  the  cardinal  deplores  is 
significant.  According  to  telegraphic  reports  published 
in  all  our  newspapers  of  February  20, 1907,  two  months 
after  this  cardinal  and  others  had  had  ample  oppor- 
tunity to  explain  the  animus  of  these  irreligious  leaders, 
one  of  their  actions,  subsequently  denounced  by  the 
Vatican,  was  sustained  by  the  representatives  of  the 


222        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

people  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  in  Paris  by  a  vote 
of  389  to  88. 

Now  let  us  notice  another  noteworthy  fact,  so  gen- 
erally acknowledged  as  to  need  no  confirmation.  It  is 
this — that  no  Englishman  or  American  of  wide  ex- 
perience would  admit  that  the  intellectual  or  moral 
character  of  Christian  people,  especially  of  the  Christian 
clergy,  ranks  lower — he  is  usually  ready  to  argue  that 
it  ranks  higher — in  his  own  country  than  in  any  coun- 
try exclusively  controlled  or  dominated  by  a  single 
church.  Probably  no  man  in  the  United  States,  cer- 
tainly none,  so  far  as  recorded,  thought  of  challenging 
the  following  statement  written  to  a  Catholic,  Mrs. 
Bellamy  Storer,  by  President  Roosevelt  on  May  18, 
1900,  and  published  in  all  the  principal  newspapers  of 
the  country  on  December  11,  1906:  "I  emphatically 
feel,  as  I  have  always  told  you,  that  the  chance  for 
bettering  the  Catholic  inhabitants  of  the  tropic  islands 
lies  by  bringing  them  up  to  the  highest  standard  of 
American  Catholicism.  The  worst  thing  that  could 
happen  both  for  them  and  the  Catholic  Church  would 
be  for  the  Catholic  Church  to  champion  the  iniquities 
that  have  undoubtedly  been  committed,  not  only  by 
lay,  but  by  clerical  would-be  leaders  in  the  Philippines 
and  elsewhere.  One  incident,  which  I  actually  can 
not  put  on  paper,  came  to  my  personal  knowledge  in 
connection  with  a  high  Catholic  ecclesiastic  in  Cuba, 
which  was  of  a  character  so  revolting  and  bestial  that 
it  made  one  feel  that  the  whole  hierarchy  in  the  island 


NON-CONFORMITY  AND  TRUTHFULNESS    223 

needed  drastic  renovation."  Think  how  impossible  it 
would  be  to  make  such  an  accusation  against  any 
official  or  officials  of  any  church  in  the  United  States 
without  an  instant  demand  for  proof  and  the  ecclesias- 
tical prosecution  of  the  one  accused! 

For  these  conditions — for  the  respect  paid  to  the 
opinions  of  Christians  as  Christians,  and  for  the  general 
belief  in  their  intellectual  and  moral  integrity — there 
are  extremely  good  reasons;  and  they  are  all  connected 
with  the  existence  of  what  is  termed  schism.  The 
first  of  these  reasons  is  that,  when  every  one  is  not  only 
free  in  fact,  but  feels  free,  to  express,  in  word  and  deed, 
his  own  inward  religious  convictions,  the  tendency  to 
that  trait,  which  probably  the  majority  of  men  acknowl- 
edge to  be  at  the  basis  of  all  that  is  most  reprehensible 
in  character — i.e.j  untruthfulness — is  lessened.  The 
requirements  of  religion  at  least  furnish  no  occasion 
for  indulgence  in  it.  The  second  reason  is  that,  where 
there  are  many  different  branches  of  the  Church  repre- 
senting many  different  views  and  methods,  with  some 
of  which  one  can  hardly  fail  to  agree,  the  tendency  to 
truthfulness  is  increased.  The  third  reason  is  that  this 
tendency  is  developed  in  such  a  way  as  not  necessarily 
to  unchurch  a  man.  He  can  still  remain  theoretically  a 
member  of  the  Church  universal,  through  joining  one 
of  the  bodies  recognized  to  be  one  of  its  legitimate 
branches.  The  fourth  reason  is  the  natural  and  inevi- 
table competition  between  these  branches.  This  need 
not  be,  and,  in  America,  it  is  not,  as  a  rule,  at  all  hos- 


224        THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

tile;  nevertheless  it  causes  the  members  of  each  branch 
to  be  critical  of  those  of  other  branches,  and  thus 
serves  to  keep  all  true  to  a  high  standard.  Finally, 
a  fifth  reason  is  that  this  high  standard  is  attained 
through  the  only  condition  of  Church  life  which  can 
actually  make  it  and  Christian  life  synonymous.  Prob- 
ably there  are  hundreds  of  thousands  to-day  in  France 
and  Italy  who,  while  claiming  to  be  friendly  to  the 
ideal  embodied  in  the  life  of  Jesus,  acknowledge  them- 
selves to  be  enemies  of  the  only  organization  which  to 
them  represents  the  Church.  This  statement  could  not 
be  applied  to  the  same  extent  in  either  Great  Britain  or 
the  United  States,  simply  because  the  conception  that 
in  these  countries  men  have  of  the  Church,  as  something 
not  necessarily  involving  a  single  external  organization, 
renders  the  condition  indicated  unnecessary,  if  not 
impossible. 

Now  can  this  conception,  which  seems  to  be  so  ra- 
tional in  itself  and  so  beneficial  in  its  results,  be  justified 
by  the  lessons  derivable  from  what  is  termed  historic 
Christianity; — in  other  words — to  use  the  term  in  the 
sense  in  which  those  did  who  originated  it — from  the 
history  of  the  development  of  the  Church  as  an  external 
organization?  A  negative  answer  is  often  given  to  this 
question;  and  such  an  answer  is  often  supposed  by 
high-churchmen  to  furnish  an  irrefutable  argument 
against  the  view  that  has  here  been  presented.  But 
let  us  think  a  little.  The  only  logical  answer  to  our 
question  must  make  it  affirmative.  Consider,  for  a 


THE  HISTORIC  CHURCH  NEVEfR  ONE      225 

moment,  the  contents  of  ecclesiastical  history.  Of 
what  do  they  mainly  consist?  Of  what  except  records 
of  methods  through  which  individuals  and  communities 
have  protested  against  assumptions  of  authority  in 
matters  of  belief  and  practise  on  the  part  of  coun- 
cils and  officials  of  the  Church?  Of  what  except  the 
records  of  controversies,  persecutions,  and  wars  that 
have  resulted  on  account  of  the  persistence  of  these 
protesters?  Of  what  except  the  records,  one  after 
another,  of  the  triumphs,  not  invariable  but  frequent,  of 
these  protesters  or  of  their  successors?  Merely  a  list 
of  the  names  of  the  different  Christian  churches  might 
furnish  an  indisputable  proof  that  what  some  term  the 
" divine  influence"  manifested  in  processes  of  develop- 
ment has  not  kept  the  Church  an  organic  unity,  but 
has  brought  into  being  many  different  organizations. 
These  have  originated,  too,  almost  always  because  of 
fidelity  to  conviction  and  conscience  on  the  part  of 
those  who,  like  the  earliest  followers  of  the  great 
Master,  were  "put  out"  of  some  existing  "synagogue" 
(John  9;  22,  12;  42,  16;  2).  The  Nestorian,  Armenian, 
Coptic,  Greek,  Roman,  Waldensian,  English,  Lutheran, 
Presbyterian,  and  Wesleyan  churches  are  all  distinct 
and  different.  Many  of  them  are  much  more  distinct 
and  different  than  are  the  more  recently  organized 
Protestant  sects  at  present  existing  in  England  and  the 
United  States;  for  these  latter  are  accustomed,  as  most 
of  the  former  are  not,  to  exchange  both  members  and 
pastors.  In  view  especially  of  this  latter  fact,  and  of 


226       THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

the  development  of  charity  both  of  head  and  heart 
which  it  indicates,  no  extreme  Protestant  need  fear  to 
acknowledge  all  the  force  that  there  may  be  in  the  argu- 
ment derived  from  the  development  of  historic  Chris- 
tianity. But  while  accepting  this  argument,  he  has 
a  right  to  insist  that  his  opponents  who  start  it  shall 
agree  not  to  stop  it  before  it  reaches  its  logical  termina- 
tion. What  is  this?  The  acknowledging  of  the  legit- 
imacy of  the  condition  that  the  Church  has  attained  in 
England  and  the  United  States.  The  majority  of  the 
people  of  these  countries  alone  of  all  the  world  have 
carried  into  practise  the  only  theory  concerning  the 
Church  which  can  be  rightly  inferred  from  the  ways 
in  which  the  Providence  of  God,  through  the  ages,  has 
developed  it.  Its  growth  has  been  not  that  of  a  stream, 
always  moving  toward  some  single  channel  and  never 
upward;  but  like  that  of  a  tree,  always  getting  away 
from  its  one  trunk  and  mounting  higher,  as  well  as  re- 
vealing, in  each  successive  season  new  branches  which, 
to  one  who  did  not  know  that  all  were  offshoots  of 
a  single  stalk,  would  seem  not  only  more  numerous, 
but  more  divergent.  So  much  for  the  argument  from 
historic  Christianity. 

Now  let  us  notice  whether  the  same  conception  is 
justified  by  something  else — i.e.,  by  the  conditions  ex- 
isting in  the  primitive  church,  so  far  as  these  are  re- 
vealed in  the  records  of  the  Scriptures.  There  need  be 
no  uncertain  answer  to  this  question.  Take  such  a 
passage  as  the  one  undoubtedly  referring  to  the  Church, 


CHURCH  UNITY  SPIRITUAL  227 

beginning,  "There  is  one  body  and  one  Spirit"  (Eph. 
4;  4),  or  1  Cor.  12;  13,  "For  by  one  Spirit  are  we  all 
baptized  into  one  body" — do  these  passages  refer  to  a 
spiritual  body  or  to  a  material  one? — and  if  to  the 
latter,  in  what  circumstances  can  one  spirit  be  supposed 
to  animate  this  material  body  or  organization?  Is  it 
when  the  organization,  as  such,  forces  men  to  utter 
one  set  of  opinions  and  to  perform  one  set  of  rites,  while, 
all  the  time,  they  may  be  thinking  something  different 
in  their  minds,  and  wishing  to  do  it  in  their  hearts? 
Yet  this  is  exactly  the  condition  where  unity  is  enforced 
either  by  the  action  of  officials,  or  by  the  popular  senti- 
ment in  the  organization  occasioned  by  such  action. 

It  certainly  seems  difficult  to  understand  how  unity 
that  is  thus  enforced  can  ever  be  unity  of  the  spirit.  No 
two  individuals  can  have  unity  of  spirit  except  in  the 
degree  in  which,  in  the  presence  of  the  other,  each  is 
free,  and  feels  free,  to  say  and  to  do  what  he  chooses. 
Why  should  it  not  be  the  same  in  the  case  of  two,  or  of 
any  number  of  Christians?  But  if  it  be  the  same,  then 
one  might  say  with  truth  that  there  is  often  far  more 
religious  unity  of  spirit  in  one  little  New  England  vil- 
lage, tho  divided  into  half  a  dozen  sects  all  agreeing  to 
disagree  in  some  things,  but  uniting,  as  they  usually  do, 
in  the  practical  work  of  charitable  organizations  and 
Men's  or  Women's  Christian  Associations,  than  would 
be  possible  in  any  single  church  in  Christendom  in- 
spired by  the  merely  partizan  spirit  that  caused  its 
members  to  speak  of  it  as  "  the  "  church. 


228        THE  PS YCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

At  this  point  the  reader  may  begin  to  perceive  the 
bearings  of  these  conclusions  upon  the  subject  mooted 
at  the  opening  of  the  present  chapter.  If  men  believe 
that  any  phase  of  opinion,  whether  religious  or  political, 
be  essential  to  human  welfare,  or  be  merely  very  im- 
portant, it  is  natural,  and,  sometimes,  obligatory  that 
they  should  unite  with  others  of  the  same  belief,  and 
organize,  in  order  to  propagate  this  phase  of  opinion. 
Their  organization,  in  proportion  to  its  size  and  to  the 
character  of  its  members,  may — as  it  must  necessarily— 
draw  attention  to  the  phase  of  opinion  for  which  it 
stands,  but,  for  reasons  already  given,  for  it  to  exert 
even  in  this  way  any  except  a  distinctly  mental  in- 
fluence is  not  legitimate  theoretically.  Nor  is  it  wise 
practically.  Who  can  have  failed  to  notice  this  latter 
fact?  When  a  man  is  trying  to  control  our  thought, 
he  is  apt  to  succeed  in  exactly  the  degree  in  which  he 
seems  to  be  expressing  his  own  personal  convictions. 
The  moment  that  we  have  reason  to  suppose  him  a 
special  pleader  for  a  certain  cause  or  clientage  of  which 
he  is  the  official  spokesman,  we  keep  our  minds  more  or 
less  closed  even  to  those  parts  of  his  argument  which 
we  should  otherwise  accept.  A  preacher  who  is  always 
backing  his  pleas  with  the  authority  of  the  Church  may 
have  great  influence  with  those  of  his  own  communion, 
but  he  has  little  influence  with  others.  This  fact  alone 
accounts  for  the  rapid  growth  of  Christianity  in  every 
age  and  country  in  which  those  who  have  pleaded  for 
it  have  seemed  to  stand,  as  it  were  alone,  and  to  work 


CHURCH  WORSHIP  229 

for  their  own  individual  belief,  rather  than  for  that  of 
an  organization  of  which  they  were  members.  It  was 
so  in  the  early  days  of  Christianity,  of  the  Reformation, 
of  the  Wesley  an  revival,  and  of  the  Salvation  Army;  and 
it  characterizes  the  great  missionary  work  at  home  and 
abroad  that  is  carried  on  at  present  very  largely  by 
laymen  of  the  various  Christian  associations. 

So  much  with  reference  to  the  Church's  influencing 
thought  through  enforcing  belief  in  its  doctrines.  On 
page  212,  the  second  object  of  the  Church  was  said  to  be 
to  influence  inclinations  or  feeling.  This  is  a  far  more 
important  phase  of  its  influence  than  is  sometimes 
recognized.  Many,  especially  in  Protestant  countries, 
suppose  that  the  chief,  if  not  the  sole,  object  of  attend- 
ing a  church  service  is  to  hear  the  sermon.  But  what 
will  those  wTho  think  this  do  in  case  the  sermon  contain 
for  them  nothing  new  in  the  way  of  thought,  nor  even— 
what  is  sometimes  a  substitute  for  thought — in  the  way 
of  presentation?  This  can  be  said  of  many  a  sermon, 
and,  by  experienced  readers  or  thinkers,  of  many  that 
are  quite  instructive  and  inspiring  to  the  young  and 
inexperienced.  What  then?  Shall  those  whom  the 
sermon  fails  to  interest  cease  to  attend  the  services? 
Yes,  if  they  be  accustomed  to  follow  only  their 
own  inclinations.  But  not  by  any  means  "yes,"  if 
they  be  accustomed  to  regard  the  welfare  of  others. 
In  the  latter  case,  they  are  likely  to  recall  that  the 
young  need  to  be  instructed,  the  inexperienced  to  be 
guided,  the  despondent  to  be  made  hopeful,  the  selfish 


230        THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

to  be  made  sympathetic,  the  sordid  to  be  made  aspiring, 
as  well  as  a  whole  world  of  people  almost  submerged  in 
a  mean  fight  for  material  gains  to  be  saved  from  it  by 
the  rest  and  meditation  naturally  accompanying  a  still 
Sabbath,  and  the  uplift  and  outlook  naturally  sug- 
gested by  a  religious  gathering.  This  is  the  reason 
why  many  a  man  who  expects  to  get  nothing  for  him- 
self from  the  sermon  never  fails  to  be  present  where 
others  can  hear  it.  Nor  can  it  be  truly  said  even  of 
him  that  he  gets  from  the  service  nothing  for  himself. 
That  which  does  not  minister  to  the  head  may  minister 
to  the  heart.  For  some,  the  mere  assembling  with 
others,  though,  as  often  in  the  meetings  of  the  Society 
of  Friends,  no  word  be  uttered,  has,  in  itself,  a  human- 
izing, a  sympathetic,  and  therefore  a  spiritual  effect; 
and  upon  many  more  the  ritual,  but  especially  the 
music,  exerts  a  similar  effect.  These  facts  are  formally 
recognized  in  most  churches  by  the  use  that  is  made  of 
the  sacramental  rites,  especially  those  connected  with 
the  " communion,"  or  the  "Lord's  Supper,"  and  of  the 
hymns,  chants,  and  prayers.  Even  the  sacramental 
rites,  however,  so  long  as  they  may  be  supposed  to  in- 
fluence in  certain  particular  directions,  do  so  chiefly 
on  account  of  the  expressions  in  the  rituals  that  ac- 
company them.  For  this  reason,  all  that  needs  to  be 
discust  here  may  be  included  under  what  may  be  said 
of  these  latter.  Let  us  ask,  at  once  then,  what  is  the 
legitimate  influence  of  the  Church's  prayers  and  hymns? 
No  one  can  deny  that,  to  an  extent,  they  may  have 


D 0 GMA  TISM  IN  RITUALS  231 

an  educational  and  doctrinal  effect.  Therefore,  it  is 
merely  natural  that  some  should  suppose  it  appropriate 
that  they  should  often  give  an  exact  and  even  extreme 
expression  to  some  peculiar  dogma.  Perhaps  this  form 
of  expression  may  be  justified  so  far  as  an  influence  is 
intended  to  be  exerted  upon  children,  for  whose  opin- 
ions their  parents  are  as  yet  responsible,  or  upon  grown 
people  who  have  long  been  accustomed  to  receive  cer- 
tain dogmas  as  true.  But  in  churches  the  doors  of 
which  are  thrown  open  in  the  hope  that  all  who  enter 
may  join  in  the  services  as  well  as  listen  to  the  sermons, 
may  not  the  dogmatic,  when  introduced  into  the  de- 
votional parts  of  the  exercises,  effectually  interfere 
with  that  for  which  these  are  intended? 

We  all  know  that  emotional  conditions  of  mind  differ 
from  those  that  are  logical,  and  that,  sometimes,  the 
two  are  antagonistic.  If  a  man  be  in  an  excited  mood, 
either  hilarious  or  grievous,  his  excitement  is  likely  to 
disappear  the  moment  he  becomes  thoroughly  ab- 
sorbed in  the  solution  of  a  mathematical  problem.  So 
with  a  worshiper  expected  to  join  in  a  church  service. 
Anything  that  appeals  to  his  argumentative  faculties, 
even  if  not  opposed  to  his  own  traditional  or  specula- 
tive opinions,  nevertheless  supplants,  to  some  extent, 
that  which  is  essential  to  the  spirit  of  worship.  This 
fact  has  been  practically,  tho  possibly  unconsciously, 
recognized  by  the  organizations  of  laymen  which  con- 
duct the  largely  attended  meetings  for  men  held  on 
Sundays  in  certain  theaters  of  most  of  our  American 


232        THE  PS YCIIOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

cities.  The  non-dogmatic  character  of  the  hymns  and 
prayers  at  these  meetings  is  to  be  ascribed  not  only 
to  the  practical  aim  of  avoiding  offense,  but  to  the 
philosophic  aim  of  securing  concurrence  of  emotion, 
and  of  affording  a  method  of  worship  truly  representa- 
tive of  the  devotional  attitude  of  all.  The  result  is  one 
more  of  many  instances  proving  the  truth  of  the  state- 
ment of  the  Christ  that  the  kingdom  of  God,  because 
within,  "cometh  not  by  observation/'  or  " through 
things  to  be  observed"  (Luke  17;  20).  How  few 
important  changes  in  the  methods  of  the  Church  have 
been  started  by  others  than  laymen  or  subordinate 
clergymen!  Apparently,  the  government  of  God  in 
the  Church  differs  in  no  respect  from  his  government 
in  the  state,  in  which,  as  a  rule,  reforms  come  from 
those  who  are  in  humble  rather  than  in  high  positions. 
As  Paul  says  in  1  Cor.  1 ;  27,  "God  hath  chosen  the  weak 
things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  things  that  are 
mighty."  As  for  this  change  in  the  removal  of  dog- 
matism from  the  prayers  and  hymns,  is  it  not  about 
time  that  the  wisdom  of  doing  it  should  be  acknowl- 
edged by  the  Church  as  a  church?  Why  should  unity 
in  devotion,  or  the  possibility  of  devotion  of  any  kind,  { 
be  imperiled  by  the  introduction  of  that  which,  as  com- 
pared with  it,  is  really  non-essential?  Why  should 
not  the  service  of  petition  and  praise,  so  far  as  concerns 
this  alone,  be  one  in  which  all  can  truthfully  join?  In 
asking  this  question,  the  author  would  not  like  to  have 
his  readers  imagine  him  so  unacquainted  with  esthetic 


D  0  GMA  TISM  IN  WORSHIP  233 

effects  as  not  to  recognize  that  with  many  the  harmony 
of  a  service,  especially  if  it  be  wholly  musical,  exerts  a 
far  more  potent  influence  than  do  the  words  used  in  it, 
frequently,  indeed,  causing  the  meanings  of  these  to  be 
wholly  disregarded.  We  all  know  that  college  stu- 
dents of  the  most  scrupulous  morality  join  not  only  with 
great  heartiness,  but  with  great  sympathetic  benefit  to 
themselves,  in  the  singing  of  extremely  bacchanalian 
songs;  and  do  so  without  the  least  consciousness  that 
the  sentiments  in  these  entirely  misrepresent  their  own 
convictions  and  practises.  The  same  principle  applies 
to  large  numbers  who  derive  a  corresponding  benefit 
by  joining  in  the  music,  tho  they  can  not  join  in  the 
sentiment,  of  the  services  of  the  church.  But  the 
principle  does  not  apply  to  all ;  and  for  their  sakes,  as 
well  as  because  of  the  supreme  importance  of  avoiding, 
in  the  worship  of  God  at  least,  the  slightest  tendency 
to  evil,  the  words  presented  for  use  should  be  con- 
fined, if  possible,  to  such  as  all  can  use  with  absolute 
truthfulness. 

It  seems  strange  that  the  English  Church  has  not 
considered  this  question  as  related,  at  least,  to  the  mode 
of  worship  used  in  its  cathedrals.  At  present  the  only 
difference  between  the  service  in  these  and  in  the 
smaller  parish  churches  is  that  the  former  is  a  little 
more  of  a  spectacle — therefore  one  might  almost  say 
a  little  less  spiritual.  But  suppose  a  service  of  another 
kind  were  introduced  into  the  cathedral — a  service  in 
which  every  religious  man  of  the  nation  could  join. 


234        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

In  this  case,  how  much  more  than  at  present  might  the 
Church  be  able  to  do  for  the  nation  and  for  humanity! 
But  no;  "God  hath  chosen  the  weak  things  of  this 
world  to  confound  the  wise"  (1  Cor.  1;  27);  and  the 
spiritual  work  that  might  be  done  for  the  Christ  by  the 
learned  " hierarchy  enthroned"  in  a  cathedral  is  left  to 
be  done  mainly  by  unlettered  laymen  on  the  stage  of  a 
theater. 

A  more  broadly  phrased  ritual  and  hymnal  is  needed 
however,  not  merely  when  an  audience  is  expected  to 
be  large,  but,  still  more,  when  on  account  of  being  large 
it  is  expected  to  be  promiscuous — to  be  composed  of 
those  of  many  divergent  views.  This  latter  condition 
may  exist  often  where  the  assembly  is  comparatively 
small,  as  on  shipboard,  or  at  an  army-post.  Frequently, 
in  such  places,  men  of  different  religious  convictions 
would  like  to  worship  with  their  fellows;  but  some 
of  them  can  not  do  so  because  of  the  supposition— 
to  say  nothing  of  the  self-righteous  and  self-opinion- 
ated determination — on  the  part  of  others  that  devo- 
tion must  be  dogmatic.  Who  can  deny  that  it  would 
be  expedient,  as  well  as  charitable,  for  the  Christian 
Church  to  prepare  and  recommend  rituals  and  hymns 
that  could  meet  such  conditions? 

Were  this  work  to  be  undertaken  those  engaged  in 
it  would  be  surprized  to  find,  not  how  much,  but  how 
little — yet  enough  to  justify  their  efforts— would  need 
to  be  omitted  or  changed.  To  illustrate  this  in  the 
case  of  hymns,  any  religious  man  can  join  in  almost  any 


DOGMATISM  IN  WORSHIP  235 

of  these  addressing  either  the  Father  or  the  Spirit,  or 
dwelling  upon  the  aspirations  or  the  duties  of  the  relig- 
ious life.  Even  with  reference  to  other  hymns  that 
seem  less  general  in  expression,  it  is  simply  a  fact  that, 
no  matter  what  it  may  be  written  to  express,  the  best 
hymn,  or  even  prayer,  like  genuine  poetry,  or  a  sincere 
request,  is  seldom  didactic.  It  gives  utterance  to  that 
which  is  in  the  heart  rather  than  in  the  head.  When 
the  heart  speaks,  the  expression  may  be  very  vague,  yet 
sufficiently  suggestive  to  satisfy  those  whose  concep- 
tions are  very  definite.  A  hymn  that,  at  one  time,  was 
invariably  sung  at  every  communion  service  in  a  cer- 
tain well-known  Presbyterian  church  was  written  to 
give  vent  to  the  feelings  of  a  Unitarian;  and  it  is  not 
too  much  to  say  that  many  of  the  words  inspired  by  the 
most  intense  consciousness  of  faith  in  the  Christ  and 
communion  with  him  could  be  sung,  because  of  their 
purely  poetic  quality,  not  only  by  Unitarians,  but  by 
Hebrews  and  Buddhists,  especially  if  it  were  under- 
stood that,  by  common  consent,  the  phraseology  could 
be  accepted  in  a  suggestive  and  not  a  dogmatic  sense. 
Of  course,  such  religionists  could  not  join  in  singing 
lines  like  those  mentioned  on  page  208;  but  might  it  not 
be  better  for  the  spirit  of  devotion — to  say  no  more — 
if  believers,  no  matter  how  fervent,  in  the  Trinity  or 
the  incarnation,  could  be  induced  to  express  their  feel- 
ings in  terms  less  mathematical  and  physical? 

Now  let  us  consider  the  prayers  that  make  up  so  large 
a  part  of  many  of  the  rituals.    We  shall  find  that  the 


236        THE  P8YCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

tendency  to  dogmatism  by  no  means  asserts  itself  in  all 
of  these.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  religious  man 
of  any  belief  who  could  not  join  in  "The  Lord's  Prayer/' 
or  even  in  petitions  tendered  "in  the  name  of  the  Lord/' 
in  case  it  were  understood  that  the  worshipers'  inter- 
pretations of  this  phrase  could  be  allowed  to  differ. 
But  why  should  they  no t  be  ?  To  allow  this  would  merely 
carry  out  the  logical  inference  from  the  conception 
that  spiritual  truth  should  be  considered  suggestive 
rather  than  dogmatic.  Moreover,  it  would  merely  be 
recognizing  publicly  a  fact  already  recognized  privately. 
The  fact  is  this — that  all  the  worshipers,  even  in  the 
most  orthodox  churches,  do  not  interpret  the  phrase  in 
exactly  the  same  way.  Why  should  not  the  theory  of 
the  Church,  in  this  regard,  be  made  to  conform  with 
acknowledged  practise?  As  for  the  repeating  or  sing- 
ing together  of  what  is  termed  "the  creed  " — even  if  as 
elementary  as  the  Apostles' — may  not  this  practise, 
except  in  meetings  held  exclusively  for  the  expression 
of  the  religious  convictions  of  particular  organizations, 
be  a  little,  to  quote  Shakespeare,  "from  the  purpose" 
of  the  services  into  which  it  is  introduced?  In  promis- 
cuous audiences,  may  it  not  exalt  dogmatism  to  the  det- 
riment of  both  devotion  and  truthfulness,  and  not  in- 
frequently to  their  exclusion? 

The  third  object  of  the  Church  was  said  to  be  to  in- 
fluence will  and  conduct  through  discipline.  The  way 
in  which  a  man  supposes  this  object  to  be  attainable 
will  depend  upon  what  has  been  already  mentioned  in 


CHURCH  DISCIPLINE  237 

another  connection,  namely,  upon  the  degree  in  which 
he  conceives  the  Church  to  be  an  end  or  a  means.  By 
one  who  conceives  it  to  be  the  former,  discipline  is 
often  supposed  to  have  accomplished  its  purpose  when 
the  members  of  a  church  have  been  brought  into  sub- 
jection to  its  officers,  or  have  been  made  to  fulfil  its 
prescribed  observances — as,  for  instance,  by  being 
present,  once  a  week,  in  a  building  at  a  religious  service 
where  they  can  see  others  and  let  others  see  them;  by 
paying  regularly  their  pew-rent  or  other  money  due  the 
church,  and  contributing  their  share  to  additional  col- 
lections; or  by  not  being  absent  too  frequently  from 
the  confession  or  the  communion.  By  those  who  con- 
ceive the  Church  to  be  a  means  rather  than  an  end,  the 
object  of  discipline  is  supposed  to  be  attained  in  the 
degree  in  which  its  members  are  kept  from  pursuits 
or  indulgences  such  as  dancing,  tippling,  card-playing, 
or  theater-going,  which  are  considered  to  have  an  evil 
practical  tendency,  as  well  as  from  those  which  are 
more  generally  acknowledged  by  all  to  be  wrong  or 
vicious  in  themselves.  The  latter  conception  of  the 
object  of  discipline  is  broader  than  the  former,  yet  both 
are  narrow — the  former  because  it  concerns  itself  merely 
with  observances  of  the  Church,  and  not  with  one's 
fulfilment  of  his  duties  toward  his  fellows;  and  the 
latter  because  it  concerns  itself  merely  with  external 
conduct,  and  not  with  influences  exerted  over  many 
inward  motives  which  must  be  present  before  a  man  can 
be  a  Christian  in  the  highest  sense.  This  is  the  same 


238        THE  PS YCHOL OGY  OF  1NSPIRA TION 

as  to  say  that  discipline  exercised  so  as  to  secure  merely 
such  results  as  have  been  mentioned  affects  only  a  small 
part  of  that  which  constitutes  character.  Moreover, 
as  a  moment's  thought  will  convince  us,  it  affects  only 
the  meanest  part  of  this,  because  it  affects  that  part 
only  which  is  actuated  by  a  desire  to  secure  one's  own 
personal  benefit,  or,  as  this  is  termed  in  religion,  one's 
own  salvation.  A  man  could  possess  all  the  traits  which 
it  would  be  possible  for  the  kinds  of  discipline  that  have 
been  mentioned  to  create  or  develop  and  yet  do  very 
little  in  the  way  of  positively  uplifting  his  fellows  or 
manifesting  such  characteristics  as  were  in  the  Christ. 
Almost  the  last  words  of  the  great  Master  to  his  dis- 
ciples on  the  eve  of  his  Crucifixion,  which  he  seems  to 
have  foreseen,  were  these  (John  15;  11),  "These  things 
have  I  spoken  unto  you  that  my  joy  might  remain  in 
you,  and  that  your  joy  might  be  full."  No  man  can 
have  this  joy  in  his  soul  who  has  not  experienced  within 
himself,  in  some  degree,  the  love  to  which  the  Master 
refers  in  the  verses  preceding  and  following  this;  for 
instance,  in  verse  10,  "If  ye  keep  my  commandments 
ye  shall  abide  in  my  love,  even  as  I  have  kept  my 
Father's  commandments  and  abide  in  his  love,"  and 
verses  12  and  13,  "This  is  my  commandment,  that  ye 
love  one  another,  as  I  have  loved  you.  Greater  love 
hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a  man  lay  down  his  life  for 
his  friends."  It  was  the  self-renunciation  exercised  by 
the  Christ,  not  in  his  own  behalf  but  for  the  benefit  of 
others,  that  caused  the  joy  in  which  he  wished  that 


THE  JOY  OF  CHRISTIAN  LIFE  239 

others  might  share.  That  the  same  self-renunciation 
on  their  part  might  result  in  the  same  experience  of 
joy  is  something  of  which  all  of  us  might  become  con- 
vinced, in  a  partial  degree  at  least,  from  our  own  ex- 
perience. Every  man  who  has  ever  become  wholly  ab- 
sorbed in  a  great  undertaking,  either  in  behalf  of  an 
individual,  a  society,  or  a  state,  knows  something  of  the 
unconsciousness  of  weariness,  danger,  or  pain  accom- 
panying the  feeling  of  enthusiasm  that  carries  one 
through  his  task.  There  is  a  joy  of  the  conflict  as  great, 
at  times,  as  that  of  any  victory  that  can  follow  it.  In 
the  height  of  the  battle  the  severest  wounds  are  often 
unfelt.  Experts  in  reading  the  human  countenance 
declared  in  the  sixteenth  century,  both  in  England  and 
upon  the  Continent,  that  many  martyrs  burned  at  the 
stake  had  apparently  experienced  no  physical  suffering. 
Why  should  this  not  have  been  the  case?  If  a  man 
have  no  sense  of  pain  when  the  conscious  nature  is  be- 
numbed as  in  ordinary  hypnotism,  why  should  not  the 
same  result  follow  the  far  more  complete  dominance  of 
the  subconscious  when  the  spirit  is  supreme?  Is  it 
strange  that  the  great  Master  should  have  wished 
something  like  the  "joy"  attendant  upon  this  con- 
dition, as  applied  to  the  common  disappointments  and 
disasters  of  life,  to  be  the  perpetual  experience  of  those 
whom  he  foresaw  destined  to  constant  conflict  from 
which,  in  this  world,  there  could  be  no  release?  The 
attitude  of  the  Christian  mind  which,  according  to  any 
profound  or  comprehensive  view  of  the  subject,  the 


240        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

discipline  of  the  Church  should  be  designed  to  develop — 
what  can  it  be  except  such  as  is  a  natural  expression  of 
this  "joy,"  due  to  the  pervading  influence  of  the  Spirit 
of  the  Master? 

And  how  is  it  possible  for  one  to  possess  this  joy  in 
anything  like  completeness  who  is  merely  seeking  his 
own  salvation?  Every  church  in  Christendom  might 
be  crowded  with  supplicants  from  morning  to  night, 
engaged,  when  not  present  in  the  church,  in  deny- 
ing themselves  every  pleasure  whatsoever,  and  even 
in  starving  and  scourging  themselves  to  the  verge  of 
death,  and  yet,  among  them  all,  there  might  not  be 
one  man  really  possessing  the  spirit  or  manifesting  the 
conduct  of  a  genuine  follower  of  the  Christ.  The  Christ 
did  not  aim  for  his  own  salvation.  How  can  it  be  sup- 
posed that  his  followers  should  do  this?  A  follower 
of  the  Savior  should  himself  be  a  Savior.  The  dele- 
gating of  all  saving  work  to  some  official  of  a  church, 
and  the  consequent  lack  of  spiritual  interest  in  life,  be- 
cause in  it  there  seems  nothing  spiritual  to  do,  is  one  of 
the  saddest  characteristics  of  the  towns  and  villages  of 
southern  and  eastern  Europe.  From  them  the  scores 
of  educational  and  benevolent  secular  and  religious 
societies  that  give  social  and  humanitarian  employ- 
ment to  surplus  aspiration  in  almost  all  similar  locali- 
ties in  our  own  country  seem  to  be  entirely  absent. 
No  wonder  that,  where  life  is  so  tame,  because,  in  the 
truest  sense,  so  spiritless,  many  more  than  would  other- 
wise be  the  case  seek  divertisement  in  tippling  and 


THE  CHRISTIAN  A  SA  VIOR  241 

gambling  and  other  pastimes  that  are  frivolous  if  not 
vicious.  About  the  only  expression  which  is  afforded 
in  these  communities  for  anything  like  that  spiritual 
fellowship  which  is  well-nigh  essential  for  the  full  en- 
joyment of  life  is  connected  with  ecclesiastical  cere- 
monies. For  providing  these  the  Church  should  have 
full  credit.  They  seem  often  like  oases  in  a  desert  of 
disinterest.  The  ceremonies  enable  the  people  to  sing 
and  march  together,  all  drest  in  their  best  and  some- 
times in  fancy  costumes;  more  than  this,  in  such  a  con- 
dition to  see  others  and — what  is  often  more  satis- 
factory— to  be  seen  by  them.  Yet  one  can  not  avoid 
feeling  that  the  consequent  spiritual  uplift  is  to  that 
which  might  attend  upon  a  broader  conception  of 
Christian  life,  just  about  what  the  assembling  and 
blowing  of  the  same  people  against  the  outside  of  a 
balloon  in  which  they  wished  to  rise  might  be  to  that 
which  would  follow  the  appropriate  inflating  of  it. 
What  the  people  most  need  is  not  a  priest  to  marshal 
processions  and  emphasize  his  own  leadership  in  these, 
but  a  presence  of  spiritual  influence  inspiring  the  con- 
duct of  ordinary  life,  and  emphasizing  the  right  and 
duty  of  every  one  to  use  his  reason  in  methods  of  de- 
veloping it.  At  what  period  in  the  Dark  Ages  did  the 
officials  of  the  Church  discover  that,  in  the  degree  in 
which  this  condition  could  be  realized,  that  which  would 
separate  the  people  from  the  priest  and  elevate  him 
would  be  decreased,  whereas  that  which  would  join  the 
priest  to  the  people  and  elevate  them  would  be  increased ! 


242        THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

It  is  interesting  to  trace  the  development  of  the  con- 
ception of  the  privilege  and  responsibility  of  the  in- 
dividual Christian.  The  Wesley ans  seem  to  have  been 
the  first,  in  our  own  country,  to  emphasize  it  strongly. 
But,  in  doing  this,  they  have  been  surpassed  recently 
by  those  enlisted  in  the  Salvation  Army.  At  first,  in 
both  bodies,  the  conception  of  Christian  work  was 
largely  limited  to  that  of  exhorting.  Many,  however, 
can  not  exhort  to  edification.  Owing  to  the  discovery 
of  this,  perhaps,  as  much  as  to  any  other  reason,  there 
has  been  developed  the  theory  embodied  in  the  Young 
Men's  and  the  Women's  Christian  Associations,  as  well 
as  in  other  allied  and  similar  societies,  namely,  that  any 
method  of  increasing  the  comfort,  the  intelligence,  and 
the  spirituality  of  an  individual  or  a  community  is 
directly  Christian  in  effect.  In  fact,  there  has  been 
developed  the  theory  that,  as  the  Church  is  a  collection 
of  the  followers  of  the  Christ,  all  services  are  appropri- 
ate for  it  which  represent  a  ministering  to  humanity 
according  to  any  of  the  methods  of  the  Christ.  He 
spent  his  time  on  earth  not  only  in  teaching,  preaching, 
and  praying,  but  (Acts  10;  38)  in  going  "  about  and 
doing  good,"  and  in  such  ways  that,  after  he  had  passed 
through  a  province,  it  might  be  said  (Luke  7;  22)  that 
"the  blind  see,  the  lame  walk,  the  lepers  are  cleansed, 
the  deaf  hear."  All  this  kind  of  work  was  done,  too, 
by  one  who,  according  to  his  own  testimony  (Luke 
7;  34),  came  "eating  and  drinking,"  so  that  men  said, 
"Behold  a  gluttonous  man,  a  wine-bibber,  a  friend  of 


THE  INDIVIDUAL  AND  THE  CHURCH       243 

publicans  and  sinners."  It  is  the  general  principle  un- 
derlying the  methods  of  the  Christ,  as  indicated  in  such 
passages,  that  has  gradually  led  men  to  consider  it  a  part 
of  the  work  of  the  Church  not  only  to  establish  hospitals 
for  the  sick  and  the  unfortunate,  and  institutions  for  the 
education  of  the  young,  the  blind,  and  the  deaf,  but, 
through  all  possible  efforts  in  other  directions  also,  to 
seek  to  diffuse  knowledge  which  shall  prevent  and  cure 
disease  and  suffering,  and  increase  human  comfort  and 
welfare,  whether  manifested  in  spirit,  mind,  or  body; 
and  to  do  all  these  not  in  a  super-spiritual,  ultra- 
sanctified,  unnatural  way,  causing  men  to  rank  the 
Christian  with  those  who  are  not  in  real  sympathy 
with  the  interests  and  pleasures  of  the  world,  but  in  a 
way  following  the  example  set  by  the  Christ  and  ful- 
filling the  conception  exprest  in  his  last  prayer  for  his 
disciples  (John  17;  15),  "I  pray  not  that  thou  shouldst 
take  them  out  of  the  world,  but  that  thou  shouldst  keep 
them  from  the  evil."  It  is  a  development  from  con- 
siderations like  these  that  has  given  rise,  in  late  years, 
to  what  is  termed  the  institutional  church — a  church 
containing  many  other  rooms  besides  the  main  audience- 
hall,  in  which  rooms,  during  almost  every  hour  of  every 
day  of  the  week,  individuals  and  classes  can  meet  for 
instruction  and  entertainment,  domestic,  social,  intel- 
lectual, and  physical,  as  well  as  for  what  in  the  past 
has  been  termed  religious.  But,  as  yet,  this  conception 
of  the  institutional  church  is  hardly  out  of  its  infancy. 
Men  are  supposed  to  be  sufficiently  loyal  members  of 


244        THE  PS YCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

such  a  church  who  merely  support  it  with  contributions 
of  money.  But  there  is  a  better  way  of  doing  this,  and 
it  must  be  found  before  the  Christian  can  be  brought 
fully  into  such  sympathy  with  the  work  of  the  Christ  as 
to  possess  that  "joy"  of  which  he  spoke  in  the  passage 
quoted  a  moment  ago.  This  way  will  be  found  when 
each  man  has  come  to  perceive  it  to  be  his  privilege,  as 
well  as  his  duty,  to  spend  a  part — say  a  Sabbath  part,  a 
seventh — of  his  time  and  effort  in  the  service  of  those 
from  whom  he  can  expect  no  return.  This  service  may 
be  rendered  within  or  without  a  church-building,  which, 
like  the  Church  itself,  is  merely  a  means  to  an  end ;  and 
it  will  usually  be  rendered  most  effectively  in  the  di- 
rection in  which  the  one  who  renders  it  is  most  of  an 
expert.  A  teacher  can  instruct,  a  scientist  can  en- 
lighten, an  actor  can  represent,  a  singer  can  charm, 
a  capitalist  can  subsidize,  a  banker  can  finance,  a 
servant  can  attend,  a  clerk  can  assist.  A  housewife,  a 
cook,  a  milliner — any  one  who  wishes — can  find  some- 
thing to  do  in  adding  to  the  information,  the  skill,  the 
inspiration,  the  uplifting  of  the  lives  of  those  who,  as 
related  to  that  of  which  they  themselves  have  made  a 
specialty,  may  be  supposed  to  be  below  their  level. 

And  what  about  association,  it  may  be  asked,  with 
the  poor  and  the  degraded? — where  filth  reeks  and 
malignant  germs  are  rampant?  The  cleanly  and  the 
cautious  will  have  to  guard  against  these,  and  run  their 
risks,  just  as  soldiers  do  on  battle-fields.  But  let  us 
hope  that,  before  many  years,  the  most  illiterate  and 


77/7?  CHURCH  FOR  HUMANITY  24o 

lowly  will  attain  such  intelligence  and  thrift  as  to 
tolerate  neither  mire  nor  microbes,  and  even  the 
capitalist,  whom,  by  the  way,  we  may  always  expect 
to  have  with  us  so  long  as  human  ability  is  able  to 
triumph  over  lack  of  it,  will  not  care  to  refuse  to  con- 
tribute toward  fresh  clothes  for  those  who  lack  them, 
or  toward  a  method  of  cleansing  for  those  who  have 
them.  When  that  time  comes,  no  one  will  any  longer 
recognize  the  sarcasm  in  the  Chinese  story  of  the 
laboring  man  who,  when  a  finely  drest  acquaintance 
had  sought  to  snub  him  by  not  recognizing  him  on  the 
street,  prostrated  himself,  and  rendered  thanks  to  the 
man  for  having  purchased  and  worn  that  elaborate  and 
heavy  suit  of  ivory  that  others  might  have  a  chance  of 
gazing  upon  a  spectacle  of  such  unparalleled  splendor; 
both  rich  and  poor  will  learn,  at  last,  that,  at  least, 
half  the  pleasure  of  life  consists  in  having  pleasurable 
surroundings;  they  will  learn  to  give  from  what  they 
themselves  possess  in  order  to  increase  the  intelligence, 
the  purity,  the  beauty,  the  elevation,  the  spirituality 
of  their  own  environment.  When  this  time  comes,  the 
Hebrew,  the  Buddhist,  the  Mohammedan,  and  all  the 
others  whom  the  Church  is  so  anxious  to  convert  to 
Christianity  will  scarcely  need  to  be  converted;  they 
will  be  unable  not  to  perceive,  on  every  side  of  them, 
the  proofs  of  the  benefit  which  the  world  has  received 
from  it.  These  proofs  will  be  afforded  not  because  of 
any  outside  absolution  or  discipline  traceable  merely 
to  a  pope,  a  bishop,  a  priest,  or  a  presbyter;  but  be- 


246       THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

cause  of  the  example  of  private  Christians  who  (1  Cor. 
4;  2)  "have  renounced  the  hidden  things  of  dishonesty, 
not  walking  in  craftiness  .  .  .  but,  by  manifestation  of 
the  truth,"  commend  themselves  "to  every  man's  con- 
science" ;  who  have  (Matt.  5;  16)  "let  their  light  so  shine 
before  men"  that  others,  seeing  their  "good  works," 
have  been  led  "to  glorify  their  father  which  is  in  heav- 
en," and  who,  as  confest  followers  of  the  Christ,  have 
so  manifested  the  character  and  aims  of  him  whom 
they  follow  as  to  lead  the  world  to  recognize  in  him  the 
ideal  of  all  men,  or,  as  declared  in  Hag.  2;  7,  "the  de- 
sire of  all  nations." 

Sufficient  has  been  said  to  indicate  that  the  theories 
advanced  in  this  book  are  not  due  to  any  lack  of  ap- 
preciation of  the  importance  and  influence  of  the 
Church.  They  are  due  to  the  fact  that  the  author  is 
unable  to  discover  in  what  way  many  of  the  present 
methods  of  certain  churches  can  have  the  effects  upon 
opinion,  worship,  and  conduct  which  not  one,  but  every 
church  should  consider  desirable.  It  seems  to  him, 
too,  that  these  effects  might  all  become  possible  were 
all  the  requirements  for  the  member  of  the  Church 
unmistakably  related  to  a  single  and  simple  declara- 
tion of  a  purpose  to  heed  the  call  of  the  Christ  when 
he  said  "Follow  me."  No  individualistic  tendency  of 
thought,  feeling,  or  action  could  prevent  any  man  from 
entering  into  the  service  of  the  Spirit  for  the  good  of 
humanity;  and  no  one,  once  sincerely  enlisted  in  such 
a  service,  could  go  far  astray  in  any  way. 


CHAPTER  XI 

CHRISTIAN  CONSCIENCE  AND  CONDUCT  AS  AFFECTED  BY 
CONSIDERING  SPIRITUAL  TRUTH  SUGGESTIVE 

Important  to  Consider  the  Church's  Influence  Upon  the  Individual — 
Supposed  Origin  of  Subconscious  Tendencies— The  Important  Mat- 
ter Is  to  Recognize  That  They  Exist,  and  Are  Often  Antagonistic 
— The  Antagonism  Is  Caused  by  a  Consciousness,  Which  We  Term 
Conscience,  That  One  Tendency  Has  Superior  Claims  to  Another — 
The  Nature  and  Function  of  Conscience— Its  Promptings  from  the 
Subconscious  Different  in  Different  Minds — Character  of  the  In- 
fluence from  the  Subconscious  to  Some  Extent  Under  One's  Control 
—The  Result  of  Environment  and  Habit— The  Influence  of  Con- 
scious Repetition — The  Influence  of  Rituals  and  Rites — Overbal- 
anced by  the  Influence  of  Example— Reasons  for  This— Futility  of 
Confining  Efforts  for  Reformation  of  Character  to  Effects  Merely 
Addressing  the  Eye  or  Ear — Influence  of  Example  Upon  the  Sub- 
conscious Mind. 

If  from  the  preceding  discussion  certain  inferences 
may  be  drawn  with  reference  to  the  methods  best  fitted 
to  advance  the  purposes  of  the  Church,  still  more  im- 
portant inferences  may  be  drawn  with  reference  to 
those  best  fitted  to  advance  the  interests  of  the  indi- 
vidual. To  these  methods  some  references  have  neces- 
sarily been  made  when  considering  the  work  of  the 
Church.  But  more  remains  to  be  said.  According  to 
the  theory  that  has  been  presented,  the  Church  is  one, 
and  only  one,  of  many  means  of  attaining  the  end  for 
which  it,  together  with  other  agencies,  is  designed. 
This  end  is  the  right  development,  and,  so  far  as  pos- 
sible, the  perfecting  of  the  character  of  the  individual. 

247 


248        THE  PSYCH OL OGY  OF  IN8PIRA TION 

In  view  of  this  object,  a  consideration  of  what  this 
right  development  needs  is  as  important  in  order  to 
confirm  what  has  been  said  hitherto  as  it  is  on  its  own 
account. 

In  order  to  ascertain,  if  possible,  exactly  what  that 
is  for  which  we  are  in  search,  let  us  recall  the  line  of 
thought  presented  between  pages  55  and  106  of  this 
volume.  Emphasis  was  there  given  to  one  fact  which 
no  one  who  has  made  a  study  of  the  human  mind  ever 
disputes.  This  is  the  fact  that,  aside  from  the  processes 
of  our  minds  of  which  we  are  aware,  there  are  others,  by 
which  we  are  more  or  less  influenced,  of  which  we  are 
not  aware,  except  when,  in  fulfilment  of  certain  mental 
laws,  their  results  emerge  into  consciousness.  The  ex- 
planations of  this  fact  differ.  Some  attribute  the  re- 
sults to  what  has  been  stored  in  a  man's  memory  during 
his  present  life;  or,  when  thus  stored,  has  been  developed 
there  through  merely  such  methods  as  those  of  associa- 
tion, imagination,  or  logic.  Some  think  that  a  certain 
reservoir,  as  it  might  be  termed,  of  conceptions  and 
tendencies  is  inseparable  from  the  physical  constitu- 
tions that  we  inherit  from  our  ancestors.  Some  think 
that  such  conceptions  and  tendencies,  tho  purely  men- 
tal in  themselves,  were  developed  in  some  physical 
relationship  of  the  mind  in  a  previous  state,  which 
mind,  in  its  present  state,  is  reincarnated;  and,  finally, 
some  think  that  such  experiences  come  from  a  mental 
or  spiritual  environment  which  enables  the  mere  think- 
ing of  other  intelligences  to  influence  the  mind  almost 


SUBCONSCIOUSNESS  AND  CONSCIENCE    249 

to  the  same  degree  in  which  through  the  senses  it  is 
influenced  by  persons  or  phenomena  that  can  be  seen 
or  heard. 

Possibly  all  these  explanations  may  contain  some 
truth.  None  of  them  can  be  proved  to  contain  the 
whole  truth.  The  explanations,  however,  need  not 
concern  us  at  present.  No  practical,  not  to  say  ra- 
tional, man  can  expect  to  be  influenced  in  a  discussion 
like  this  by  any  except  proved  facts.  From  only  such 
facts,  therefore,  will  the  conclusions  that  are  to  follow 
be  derived.  These  facts  may  all  be  summarized  in  one, 
which  is  this — that  whatever  may  be  the  source  of  sub- 
conscious processes  of  mind,  every  man  is,  more  or  less, 
influenced  by  them.  Not  merely  a  child,  but  every 
grown  person,  does  many  things  for  no  more  conscious 
reason  than  that  he  wants  to  do  them.  Some  of  these 
wants  are  connected  with  bodily  appetite,  as  when  one 
wishes  to  eat  or  to  drink,  and  we  may  ascribe  the  effect 
to  the  craving  of  the  physical  nature.  But  other  wants 
are,  just  as  clearly,  not  connected  with  bodily  appetite, 
as  when  a  child  seeks  to  satisfy  his  curiosity  by  obtain- 
ing knowledge,  or  his  fancy  by  hearing  a  fairy  tale. 
In  the  latter  cases,  we  are  obliged  to  attribute  the  result 
to  a  craving  of  his  mental  nature.  If  this  were  all  that 
could  be  said,  we  might  not  be  justified  in  inferring 
that  there  was  any  mental  process  preceding  the  cra- 
ving. But  let  us  consider  the  facts  further.  There  are 
cases  in  which  the  physical  craving  and  the  mental,  of 
both  of  which  we  are  conscious,  are  clearly  antago- 


250        THE  PS YCIIOL OGY  OF  1N8PIRA TION 

nistic.  For  instance,  a  child  or  a  savage  who  discovers 
others  eating,  and  snatches  their  food  from  them, 
especially  if  he  injure  or  kill  them  in  order  to  do  this, 
is,  according  to  almost  all  well-authenticated  testi- 
mony, conscious  of,  at  least,  some  slight  feeling  tending 
to  deter  him  from  his  deed.  The  feeling  might  be  sup- 
posed to  be  experienced  merely  because  the  physical 
were  manifesting  interference  with  the  mental ;  because, 
to  satisfy  a  desire  for  food,  a  man  were  disregarding  his 
desire  for  fellowship,  or,  at  least,  for  continued  good 
fellowship,  and  were  exciting  enmity  and  danger  to 
himself.  Undoubtedly,  all  these  have  something  to 
do  with  the  feeling;  and  they  indicate  that  there  is  a 
mental  process  in  connection  with  it.  But  while  one 
or  the  other  of  them  may  explain  the  particular  situa- 
tion indicated,  they  fail  to  bring  clearly  to  the  light  the 
general  principle  underlying  all  possible  situations. 

This  principle  seems  to  be  connected  with  the  fact 
that  the  antagonistic  impulse  is  felt  whenever  any 
appetite  or  desire  whatever — whether  of  body  or  of 
mind,  or  whether  by  way  of  causing  mere  negative  re- 
luctance or  positive  fear — interferes  with  another  desire 
which  appears  to  have  claims  superior  to  its  own. 
Exactly  what  the  superior  or  higher  desire  is  may  not 
always  be  clearly  distinguishable;  but  the  general  fact 
that  it  exists  is  distinguishable,  and,  in  connection 
with  the  fact,  the  antagonism  that  is  occasioned.  It 
is  to  the  consciousness  of  this  antagonism  that  we 
ascribe  what  we  term  " conscience."  In  itself  con- 


CONSCIENCE  AND  RATIONALITY          251 

science  seems  to  be  a  feeling  existing  anterior  to  any 
recognition,  on  our  part,  of  any  mental  process  pre- 
ceding it.  And  yet  a  study  of  conscience  finds  its 
dictates  so  often  rational  that  we  seem  obliged  to  as- 
sociate them  with  the  results  of  rational  processes, 
though,  usually,  with  processes  that  have  taken  place 
in  our  minds  subconsciously  in  the  sense  that  we  our- 
selves were  not  conscious  of  them.  We  seem  obliged 
to  do  this  the  more  because,  among  the  considerations 
contributing  to  the  results,  we  can  often  detect  con- 
ceptions known  to  have  been  stored  in  memory  from 
experiences  through  which  we  ourselves  have  passed. 
Indeed,  very  few  thinking  men,  no  matter  how  un- 
premeditatedly  and  apparently  instinctively  conscience 
has  impelled  them  to  a  certain  course,  will  fail,  when 
questioned,  to  give  what  they  term  their  conscientious 
reasons  for  pursuing  this  course. 

Conscience,  therefore,  seems  to  be  a  regulative  faculty 
intended  to  control  conscious  mental  action;  but  to  be 
itself  more  or  less  subject  to  the  control  of  subconscious 
mental  action.  So  far  as  it  is  a  regulative  faculty,  it 
apparently  bears  somewhat  the  same  relation  to  pro- 
posed action  as  that  which  is  borne  by  the  instinct  of 
self-preservation.  When  this  latter  instinct  keeps  a 
man  from  becoming  intoxicated  by  liquor,  or  from 
jumping  off  a  high  precipice,  the  sensations  that  he 
feels  are  almost  identical  with  those  attributed  to  con- 
science in  cases  where  this  latter  keeps  him  from  steal- 
ing or  from  killing.  Desires,  lower  or  higher,  seem  to 


252        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

be  necessarily  attendant  upon  lower  or  higher  possi- 
bilities, and  wherever  both  exist  a  regulative  principle 
seems  necessary  in  order  to  subject  the  former  to  the 
latter.  When  the  desire  for  self-preservation  keeps  a 
man  physically  safe  we  attribute  the  result  to  his 
rationality.  Can  we  attribute  to  the  same  the  result 
when  his  conscience  keeps  him  not  only  physically  but, 
sometimes,  mentally  and  spiritually  safe?  In  other 
words,  if  one  experience  a  similar  sensation  when 
rationality  is  trying  to  keep  him  from  physical  ruin, 
and  also  when  conscience  is  trying  to  keep  him  from 
moral  ruin,  can  we  not  conclude  that,  in  some  regards, 
the  two  are  similar?  Yet  everybody  knows  that  they 
are  not  similar  in  all  regards.  Few  would  say  that, 
as  ordinarily  interpreted,  rationality  and  conscientious- 
ness are  the  same.  In  what  regard  then  do  they  differ? 
The  answer  has  already  been  suggested.  The  feeling 
experienced  in  conscience  is  connected  with  rationality 
only  so  far  as  it  may  be  the  result  of  subconscious 
processes  of  logic  not  manifesting  themselves  until  the 
moment  when  they  emerge  into  consciousness.  The 
feeling  experienced  in  rationality  is  the  result  of  con- 
scious processes  of  logic.  A  man  can  not  be  what  we 
term  conscientious  without  obeying  his  subconscious, 
which,  as  has  been  shown,  is  allied,  at  least,  to  his 
spiritual  and  moral  nature.  He  may  be  rational,  often 
so,  as  applied  to  certain  questions,  in  the  highest  sense, 
without  being  influenced  in  the  least  from  the  subcon- 
scious, spiritual,  or  moral  nature.  At  the  same  time,  a 


CONSCIENCE  AND  THE  SPIRITUAL         253 

mind  that  is  rational  in  the  broadest  meaning  of  that 
term — i.e.,  accustomed  to  weigh  candidly  and  justly 
all  the  reasons  presented  from  every  quarter — will  not 
disregard  the  results  of  subconscious  logic  reported  in 
conscience,  any  more  than  those  of  conscious  logic 
recognized  in  the  inferences  of  what  is  ordinarily  termed 
reasoning.  In  all  time,  men  seem  to  have  accepted 
without  questioning  the  impulses  of  conscience,  as  if 
intended,  in  some  mysterious  way,  to  register  the 
opinion  of  the  spiritual  nature  with  reference  to  the 
spiritual  quality  of  thought  or  action.  What  a  con- 
firmation of  the  truth  of  this  conception  is  afforded  by 
a  clear  recognition  of  the  connection  between  the  sub- 
conscious and  the  spiritual,  as  well  as  between  what  we 
term  the  promptings  of  conscience  and  the  emergence 
into  consciousness  of  the  results  of  subconscious  rational 
logic?  Is  there  not  the  best  of  reasons  why  it  should  be 
admitted,  ns  it  usually  is,  that  a  man  can  not  be  re- 
ligious without  being  conscientious?  That  he  serves 
his  conscience  (2  Cor.  1 ;  12)  furnishes  the  best  possible 
proof  that  he  walks  according  to  his  inward  light 
(John  1 ;  9) ;  that  he  is  loyal  to  the  kingdom  of  God  as 
indicated  by  the  laws  that  are  written  upon  the 
heart  (Heb.  8;  10). 

But  there  is  something  else  to  be  said  in  connection 
with  conscience.  As  has  been  shown,  it  is  always  more 
or  less  subject  to  the  control  of  subconscious  mentality. 
This  explains  why  the  impulses  of  conscience,  while 
inclining  each  to  that  which  appears  to  him  to  be  in 


254        THE  PSYCH OL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

accordance  with  the  highest  desire,  or  to  be,  as  we  say, 
for  the  best,  by  no  means  incline  each  to  think  or  to 
act  in  the  same  way.  They  may  incline  a  savage  to  eat, 
a  Moor  to  enslave,  and  an  American  to  educate  his 
captive.  No  more  conscientious  men  have  ever  lived 
than  some  who  appear  to  most  of  the  enlightened 
people  of  our  own  time  to  have  been  mere  supersti- 
tious bigots,  malicious  fanatics,  or  persecuting  tyrants. 
These  facts  must  be  owing  to  different  conditions  in 
subconsciousness  to  which,  or,  at  least,  through  which, 
the  particular  form  of  action  to  which  conscience  dic- 
tates is  traceable.  As  intimated  on  page  248,  it  mat- 
ters little  practically  what  theory  we  adopt  with  refer- 
ence to  that  which  occasions  these  conditions,  whether 
we  derive  them  from  heredity,  from  previous  existence, 
or  from  spiritual  or  mental  environment.  We  can  not 
now  change  our  ancestors  or  our  past,  nor  be  certain 
of  the  right  way  in  which  to  avoid  the  possible  influence 
of  spirits  whom  we  can  not  see  or  hear. 

But  according  to  any  theory,  there  is,  at  least,  one 
source  of  these  conditions  over  which  we  can  exercise 
control.  This  source  is  the  present  world  in  which  we 
live.  All  the  companionships,  the  customs,  the  opin- 
ions, the  events  with  which  our  minds  consciously  come 
in  contact,  assist  in  forming  within  us  such  habits  of 
thought,  of  feeling,  of  action;  or,  if  not  so,  in  filling  our 
minds  with  such  conceptions  as,  when  recalled  to 
memory,  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  association, 
shall  determine  the  courses  to  which  conscience  impels 


CONSCIENCE  AND  ENVIRONMENT         255 

us.  This  latter,  indeed,  seems  to  be,  in  fact  as  well  as 
in  figure,  an  inward  light  enabling  us  to  see  the  out- 
lines of  each  present  emergency  merely  or  mainly  as 
they  appear  against  a  background  of  our  own  past 
experience. 

The  fact,  thus  indicated,  will  be  recognized  to  be  of 
great  importance.  If  every  slightest  record  made  on 
the  mind  through  eye  or  ear  remain  there  forever,  as 
seems  to  be  suggested  by  what  was  brought  out  on 
pages  57  to  63,  how  essential  it  is  that,  from  the 
moment  that  a  child  begins  to  observe  to  the  very  end 
of  his  life,  his  mind  should  be  kept  from  seeing  or  hear- 
ing that  which,  in  any  way,  tends  to  lower  his  concep- 
tions of  such  methods  of  thought  or  action  as  are  worthy 
of  himself  or  just  toward  his  fellows!  There  are  those 
who  think  it  one  of  the  objects  of  worldly  existence  to 
build  up  a  spiritual  environment,  a  heavenly  mansion 
and  estate,  as  it  were,  in  which  the  soul  shall  dwell 
after  passing  out  of  this  material  existence.  The  truth 
of  such  a  theory  may  not  be  possible  to  determine,  but, 
by  analogy,  we  can  perceive  that  it  is  not  contrary  to 
reason.  Even  in  present  life  men  become  that  for  which 
their  previous  experience  has  fitted  them.  Unless 
brought  face  to  face  with  facts  that  evince  the  con- 
trary, to  those  who  have  been  thoughtful,  all  sur- 
roundings seem  suggestive  of  thought;  to  those  who 
have  been  cruel,  all  seem  suggestive  of  cruelty;  to  those 
who  have  been  pure,  all  seem  suggestive  of  purity.  If 
there  be  any  existence  after  death,  it  must  be  mental 


256        THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA  TION 

rather  than  material ;  and,  so  far  as  that  which  is  mate- 
rial is  left  behind,  whatever  remains  is  that  which  during 
earthly  experience  has  come,  as  we  say,  to  occupy  the 
mind.  The  inferences  from  these  facts  with  reference 
to  the  importance  of  surrounding  our  children,  as  well 
as  all  the  uninstructed  and  the  unfortunate,  with  right 
influences,  practical  and  theoretical,  and  of  ourselves 
holding  aloof  from  association  with  all  that  is  evil,  are 
obvious.* 

*It  has  been  ascertained  that  every  influence  with  which  we  come  in  con- 
tact has  a  suggestive  effect,  which,  without  any  effort  or  encouragement  on  the 
part  of  the  subject  of  it,  may  develop  in  his  mind  very  much  as  does  a  seed 
when  it  sends  up  from  the  ground  a  plant;  moreover,  that  those  promptings  so 
necessary  to  moral  character,  which  we  attribute  to  instincts,  ideals,  or  con- 
science, are  all  affected  in  strength  and  quality  by  the  results  in  unconscious 
logic  and  imagination  which  are  thus  evolved.  When,  therefore,  we  are  allow- 
ing the  minds,  especially  of  the  young  and  susceptible,  to  be  filled  with  interest 
in  the  methods  of  crime,  and  with  descriptions  or  pictures  of  its  accomplish- 
ment, we  are  necessarily  imperiling  that  which  lies  at  the  basis  of  conduct,  that 
which  keeps  ideals  high  and  conscience  firm;  we  are  weighing  down  and  handi- 
capping the  spirit  itself  in  its  efforts  to  get  through  life  cleanly  and  honestly, 
and  we  are  increasing  very  greatly  its  liability  to  fail  in  the  struggle.  At  times, 
when  people  are  shocked  by  what  seems  clearly  indecent,  they  are  ready  to  pro- 
test against  the  publication  of  certain  proceedings  in  court  or  performances  in 
theaters.  But  sensible  people  ought  to  think  even  when  not  shocked.  Did 
they  do  so  with  reference  to  this  subject,  they  would  recognize  that  their  pro- 
test is  applicable  to  the  publication  of  the  portrayal  of  the  details  of  any  crime 
whatever — of  swindling,  blackmailing,  burglary,  arson,  suicide,  or  murder,  as 
well  as  of  seduction  or  adultery.  In  our  country,  we  believe  in  the  freedom  of 
the  press;  but,  as  rational  creatures,  only  because  of  reasons — only  as  means  to 
an  end;  only  to  preserve  our  civil,  social,  or  religious  rights;  to  keep  our  people 
from  being  despoiled  of  money,  comfort,  liberty,  or  other  possessions  or  preroga- 
tives of  manhood.  But  whenever  the  freedom  of  the  press,  so  beneficial  in  some 
regards,  tends  to  destroy  the  people's  rights,  especially  the  rights  of  the  young 
to  be  permitted  to  preserve  unimpaired  their  standards  of  ideality  and  con- 
science, and  the  possession  of  all  that  strengthens  one  for  the  possibilities  and 
triumphs  of  upright  conduct,  not  to  say  of  spiritual  life,  then  the  freedom  of  the 
press  should  be  restricted.  No  details  of  crime  of  any  kind  should  be  allowed 
to  be  published  as  a  part  of  the  mere  entertainment  furnished  by  an  ordinary 
newspaper.  If  the  printing  of  them  be  necessary  in  order  to  secure  the  ends  of 
justice,  they  should  be  confined,  at  least,  to  official  court  journals.  .  .  .  Pub- 
lishers whose  greed  is  so  ravenous  that  it  is  allowed  to  outweigh  care  for  the 
welfare  of  their  own  children  can  never  be  expected  to  be  influenced  by  such  a 


CONSCIENCE  AND  RESPONSIBILITY       257 

No  one  can  fail  to  recognize,  however,  that  upon  vast 
numbers  no  amount  of  care  with  reference  to  these 
matters  can  have  much  practical  effect.  Thousands 
of  children  are  born  into  families,  thousands  of  men  are 
forced  into  occupations,  where  all  environments  are 
almost  wholly  vicious.  What  then?  Is  their  condi- 
tion hopeless?  Presumably  not.  Probably  no  spirit's 
condition  is  hopeless  except  as  a  result  of  a  conscious 
cultivation  of  that  which  is  known  to  be  wrong.  That 
this  is  so  seems  to  be  a  logical  inference  from  another 
fact  not  yet  indicated.  The  fact  is  this — that,  altho 
the  mind  may  keep  stored  in  its  subconscious  region 
everything  with  which  it  has  come  in  contact  (page 
58),  it  chiefly  uses  for  immediate  practical  guidance 
such  thoughts  or  experiences  only  as  by  repetition  it 
has  accustomed  itself  to  use.  A  man  who  has  merely 
read  once  a  treatise  on  chemistry  will  seldom  recall  its 
teachings.  But  if  he  have  studied  the  treatise  often, 
and  confirmed  its  deductions  by  experiments  in  the 
laboratory,  he  may  make  its  principles  and  expositions 
regulative  of  almost  every  thought  and  feeling  of  his 
life.  A  man  who  has  merely  been  told  of  the  methods 
of  representing  notes  in  printed  music,  and  on  the  keys 
of  a  piano,  will  seldom  recall  what  he  has  heard,  but  if 
he  have  practised  on  a  piano  for  four  or  five  hours  a 
day  for  years,  he  will  have  acquired,  as  a  lifelong 

minor  consideration  as  the  welfare  of  the  community  at  large.  The  community 
must  compel  them  to  recognize  its  claims  through  legal  enactments. — Extract 
from  an  article  by  the  author  on  "  The  Need  of  Legislation  to  Prevent  the  Portrayal 
of  the  Details  of  Crime," 


258        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

possession,  certain  characteristics  of  thought  and  action 
which  pertain  to  only  a  musician.  It  is  not  merely  the 
fact,  therefore,  of  having  an  evil  environment,  and,  for 
that  matter,  an  evil  psychical  or  physical  inheritance, 
that  determines  for  evil  one's  material  or  spiritual 
future.  This  is  determined  also  by  the  fact  of  having 
yielded  to  the  influence  of  the  environment,  of  having 
repeated  in  thought  and  practised  in  deed  the  evil  that 
was  in  the  environment.  Many  a  person,  amid  the 
worst  surroundings,  has  not  done  this.  These  have 
seemed  to  arouse  in  him  merely  a  repugnance  against 
the  evil.  He  has  followed  his  conscience,  at  first,  per- 
haps, only  blindly,  but,  nevertheless,  gradually,  to- 
ward a  place  of  comparative  elevation  and  enlighten- 
ment. It  is  the  duty  of  home,  society,  and  church  to 
recognize  these  facts,  and  to  aim  their  efforts  in  such 
ways  as  to  incite  men  to  the  repetition  of  that  which 
shall  cultivate  habits  of  the  highest  quality. 

Now  how  shall  the  cultivation  of  these,  so  far  as 
they  are  religious,  be  brought  about?  It  is  natural  for 
some  to  suppose  and  argue  that  this  can  be  best  done 
through  a  repetition  of  the  doctrines  and  practises  of  the 
Church  as  exprest  in  its  various  rituals  and  ordinances. 
That  these  have  some  influence  in  the  desired  direction 
is  undeniable;  but  it  would  be  easy  to  show  that  this 
influence  does  not  always  follow  from  them  necessarily, 
as  well  as  to  show  that,  when  it  does  follow,  it  is  owing 
to  something  else  than  themselves.  Many  a  man  who 
hears  the  dogmas  of  the  Church  repeated  every  Sunday 


CONSCIENCE  AND  THE  CHURCH  259 

fails  entirely  to  accept  them  in  any  such  way  as  to 
cause  them  to  become  regulative  principles  of  his 
thoughts;  and  many  a  devotee  who  joins,  every  time 
that  he  has  an  opportunity,  in  certain  formal  cere- 
monials of  his  church  does  not  give  the  slightest  evi- 
dence of  being  controlled  in  the  bargainings  of  business 
life  by  the  Spirit  that  was  in  the  Christ. 

Nevertheless,  in  some  cases,  all  must  acknowledge 
that  these  methods  of  the  churches  do  appear  effective. 
An  apparent  cause,  however,  is  not  necessarily  an  actual 
cause.  Very  much  of  the  upright  life  which,  in  en- 
lightened countries,  the  Church  attributes  to  nothing 
aside  from  its  own  methods,  may  be  found  manifesting 
itself,  in  an  equally  efficient  manner,  in  a  country  with 
a  church  pursuing  entirely  different  methods.  There 
is  as  much  upright  life  in  Norway  or  Scotland  as  in 
Greece  or  Spain.  This  would  not  be  the  case,  if  up- 
rightness depended  upon  the  methods  of  any  particular 
church.  If  not  upon  the  methods,  then  the  result, 
wherever  it  exists,  must  depend  upon  something  that 
can  accompany  different  methods.  What  is  this? 
What  is  invariably  present  wherever  any  methods  of 
the  Church  tend  to  produce  uprightness  of  character? 
There  is  but  one  answer,  and  everybody  whose  mind 
is  unbiased  will  admit  it.  That  which  invariably  tends 
to  produce  uprightness  of  character  among  people  in 
general  is  uprightness  of  character  manifested  by  those 
who  influence  them.  The  methods  of  any  church  ele- 
vate the  masses  in  the  degree  in  which  the  teachers, 


260        THE  PSYCffOL OGY  OF  INSP2RA TION 

preachers,  and  members  of  that  church  are  persons  of 
exceptionally  elevated  character.  If  not;  if,  for  in- 
stance, the  words  of  an  official  of  a  church  profess  re- 
gard and  consideration  for  his  fellows,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  his  actions  show  disregard  and  lack  of  considera- 
tion, the  people  to  whom  he  ministers  are  far  more  apt 
to  accept  the  lesson  taught  by  his  secular  example  than 
by  his  ecclesiastical  professions.  Often,  in  such  a  case, 
the  only  thing  on  their  part  that  can  save  their  minds 
from  an  entirely  erroneous,  and,  if  the  subject  pre- 
sented concern  religion,  an  irreligious,  inference  is  an 
exercise  of  rationality  sufficient  to  perceive  the  logical 
incongruity  between  words  and  deeds;  and  to  ascribe 
the  wrong  practise  not  to  a  wrong  theory,  but  to  a  fail- 
ure to  join  theory  and  practise  together — a  fact  which 
furnishes  one  more  proof  of  the  importance,  when  con- 
sidering the  interests  of  even  a  very  ritualistic  church, 
of  having  the  mind  trained  to  act  rationally.  Here,  as 
in  other  conditions  already  indicated,  it  is  essential  to 
recognize  that  rational  action  is  to  the  spirit  what  self- 
defense  is  to  the  body. 

The  overbalancing  effect  of  example  as  contrasted 
with  profession  is  popularly  recognized  in  the  maxim 
that  "  actions  speak  louder  than  words."  Every  maxim 
of  this  kind  has  usually  underlying  it  the  results  not  only 
of  practical  experience,  but  of  philosophic  reasoning. 
The  latter  in  this  case  clearly  connects  what  has  just 
been  said  with  the  general  conception  of  spiritual  in- 
fluence already  so  many  times  presented.  We  have 


EXAMPLE  AND  PROFESSION  261 

found,  as  a  result  of  noticing  the  condition  of  a  patient 
in  a  case  of  hypnotism,  trance,  or  fever,  that  the  mind 
subconsciously  receives  impressions  in  ways  that  ac- 
cord with  such  methods  as  are  attributable  to  mind- 
reading,  whereas  consciousness  receives  them  through 
the  eye  or  ear.  It  follows,  therefore,  that,  if  a  man 
think  or  feel  one  thing  and  say  another,  his  thoughts 
or  feelings  may  influence  his  audience  through  sub- 
consciousness  in  one  direction,  while,  at  the  same  time, 
his  words  may  influence  them  through  consciousness  in 
another  direction.  It  has  been  shown,  too,  in  this 
chapter  that  the  influence  through  subconsciousness  is 
that  of  the  two  which  has  the  more  determining  effect 
upon  conscience  and  presumably  by  consequence  upon 
character.  The  conclusion  is  inevitable,  therefore, 
that,  if  a  man  while  preaching  love  think  hate — i.e.,  if 
he  be  malicious  or  self-seeking  in  his  methods  of  dealing 
with  his  fellows,  then  it  is  these  tendencies  which  chiefly 
influence  those  who  hear  him,  tho,  at  the  same  time, 
they  apparently  accept  his  words  as  true.  There  have 
been  few  times  and  places  in  Europe,  during  almost 
twenty  centuries,  in  which  preachers  have  not  pro- 
claimed the  love  of  the  Christ  and  the  importance  of 
regulating  life  according  to  the  principles  of  the  golden 
rule.  Yet,  during  the  majority  of  these  centuries, 
those  to  whom  their  preaching  was  addrest  have  never 
dreamed  of  attempting  to  apply  what  has  been  heard 
by  the  ear  to  existing  conditions  as  manifested  in  tyr- 
anny and  cruelty.  Even  amid  the  boasted  enlighten- 


262        THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA  TION 

ment  of  our  own  day,  how  few  are  the  minds  in  which 
the  precepts  of  the  Gospel  have  taken  such  deep  sub- 
conscious lodgment  that  they  really  exert  a  controlling 
influence  upon  the  dictates  of  conscience!  All  these 
conditions  become  intelligible  the  moment  that  we 
apprehend  that  it  is  the  inner  thoughts  and  feelings, 
often  the  unconscious  motives  of  a  man,  rather  than 
his  profest  opinions,  that  he  is  the  more  likely  to  com- 
municate to  those  about  him. 

This  being  so,  how  futile  to  accomplish  any  effective 
reformation  or  elevation  of  character  are  any  kinds  or 
methods  of  rituals  or  rites  designed  to  address  the  mind 
through  only  the  ear  or  eye!  Their  partial  influence  no 
one  can  deny;  but  to  suppose  that  "they  can  be  effect- 
ive irrespective  of  the  character  of  him  who  admin- 
isters or  of  those  who  administer  them — which  accords 
with  one  of  the  doctrines  of  the  unreformed  churches— 
or  that  by  whomever  administered  they  are  essential, 
is  to  manifest  ignorance  and  disregard  not  only  of  the 
character,  but  of  the  existence  of  the  subconscious 
spiritual  nature.  No  wonder  that  the  prophets  even 
of  Israel  should  have  declared  concerning  such  a  con- 
ception: (1  Sam.  15;  22),  "Hath  the  Lord  as  great  de- 
light in  burnt  offerings  and  sacrifices  as  in  obeying  the 
voice  of  the  Lord?  Behold  to  obey  is  better  than 
sacrifice";  (Ps.  4;  5),  "Offer  the  sacrifices  of  righteous- 
ness;" and  (Prov.  21;  3),  "To  do  justice  and  judgment 
is  more  acceptable  to  the  Lord  than  sacrifice."  In  the 
New  Testament,  too,  we  read  (Heb.  10;  11),  "And  every 


IMITATION  OF  THE  CHRIST  263 

priest  standeth  daily  ministering  and  offering  the  same 
sacrifices,  which  can  never  take  away  sin";  (Heb.  13; 
16),  "But  to  do  good  and  to  communicate  forget  not; 
for  with  such  sacrifices  God  is  well  pleased";  (1  Cor. 
1;  14),  "I  thank  God  that  I  baptized  none  of  you  but 
Crispus  and  Gaius."  (V.  17),  "For  Christ  sent  me  not 
to  baptize  but  to  preach  the  Gospel ;  not  with  the  wis- 
dom of  words";  (2;  7),  "but  we  speak  the  wisdom  of 
God";  (2;  16),  "We  have  the  mind  of  Christ,"  and 
(11;  1),  "Be  ye  followers  of  me,  even  as  I  also  am  of 
Christ." 

For  the  conception  of  Christian  influence  exprest  in 
this  last  quotation,  the  whole  trend  of  thought  in  the 
present  chapter  has  been  preparing  us.  The  call  most 
frequently  upon  the  lips  of  the  Christ  was  "Follow  me." 
A  profound  knowledge  of  human  nature  and  of  its  needs 
underlay  it.  All  his  most  efficient  disciples,  ever  since, 
have  repeated  it,  either  explicitly  or  implicitly.  So 
far  as  they  have  influenced  the  world  for  good,  they 
have  never  done  this  merely  or  mainly  by  causing  men 
to  accept  certain  dogmas  or  rites.  To  accept  or  prac- 
tise these,  and  to  form  habits  of  doing  so,  may  aid  in 
the  culture  of  conduct,  but  infinitely  less  than  does 
that  which  every  church,  at  times,  supplies,  namely, 
association  with  those  of  pure  and  elevated  personal 
character.  These,  like  the  great  Master  whom  they 
follow,  draw  men  into  kindred  discipleship,  because, 
in  the  depths  of  the  subconscious  nature,  they  subtly 
incline  to  the  constant  practise  of  righteousness  that 


264        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRA TTON 

most  powerful  of  all  human  reformatory  agencies — the 
spirit  of  imitation.  All  the  reasons,  however,  why  this 
is  so  can  not  be  presented  except  in  connection  with 
what  is  to  be  discust  in  the  chapter  following. 


CHAPTER  XII 

CHRISTIAN  FAITH  AS  AFFECTED  BY  CONSIDERING 
SPIRITUAL  TRUTH  SUGGESTIVE 

Suggestion  Influences  One  Differently  When  in  a  Conscious  and  in  a 
Subconscious  State— In  Either  State,  He  Surrenders  Control  of  His 
Subconscious  Mentality  to  One  Alone  in  Whom  He  Has  Confidence 
—Importance  of  Noticing  This  Influence  of  Personality— Its  Rela- 
tion to  Christian  Faith  and  Conversion — To  Preaching  and  Re- 
vivals—Faith Not  Peculiar  to  Christianity— Nature  of  Christian 
Faith— Faithfulness  and  Fidelity  Essential  to  It— But  Not  Perfec- 
tion of  Character — Faith  as  Influenced  by  the  Agencies  Employed 
by  the  Church,  as  in  Formulation— Error  Necessarily  Introduced 
Into  This — Two  Illustrations — Influence  of  Church  Authority — 
Influence  Upon  Faith  of  the  Historic  Christ— How  Faith  Necessi- 
tates Freedom  of  Mental  Action — Scriptural  Warrant  for  This. 

Christians,  as  a  rule,  while  admitting  that  Chris- 
tianity should  influence  conscience  and  conduct,  claim 
that  it  should  be  expected  to  do  this  only  indirectly, 
through  first  influencing  faith.  They  quote  the  pas- 
sage from  Hab.  2;  4,  so  often  repeated  in  the  New 
Testament,  "The  just  shall  live  by  faith,"  and  ask  how 
can  one  live,  or  be  saved  by  this,  unless  the  reasons  for 
having  it  have  been  made  known  to  him?  And  what 
are  such  influences  as  are  exerted  by  the  dogmas  and 
other  agencies  of  the  Church,  except  methods  causing 
these  reasons  to  be  known?  In  answer,  it  must  be 
admitted  that  faith — rational  faith  which  only  becomes 
a  rational  man — can  not  be  awakened  without  reasons; 
but  it  need  not  be  admitted  that  the  most  effective 

265 


266       THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

reasons  for  having  faith  can  be  afforded  by  such  meth- 
ods as  those  indicated.  Let  us  notice  in  this  chapter 
why,  in  accordance  with  the  conceptions  already  pre- 
sented, this  need  not  be  admitted. 

According  to  these  conceptions,  there  are,  in  certain 
cases,  tendencies  of  the  mind  coming  from  its  inner 
region  of  subconsciousness  which  dominate  its  conscious 
thought  and  action.  These  tendencies,  so  far  as  they 
may  be  due  to  the  agency  of  other  minds,  seem  to  re- 
sult from  suggestions  which  may  be  given  by  either 
very  explicit  and  emphatic  statements  and  examples, 
or  by  the  contrary.  The  suggestions,  after  being  re- 
ceived by  the  mind,  are  developed  in  it  by  subconscious 
processes  until  in  some  men  they  become  so  powerful 
as  to  influence  all  habitual  opinions  and  practises. 
The  development  may  take  place  while  consciousness 
is  inactive,  as,  occasionally,  in  fever,  hypnotism,  and 
trance,  or  while  it  is  active.  If  inactive,  it  may  exert 
no  perceptible  influence  over  the  suggestion.  If  active, 
the  exercise  of  conscious  discrimination,  as  indicated 
on  page  152,  may  assist  both  in  determining  the  form 
of  the  suggestion  when  received  and  in  developing  it. 
In  both  cases,  however,  so  far  as  can  be  ascertained, 
subconscious  intellection  manifests  the  same  method. 
It  accepts  the  suggestion,  and  develops  it,  according  to 
laws  determining  its  own  inward  processes.  The  ac- 
ceptance of  the  suggestion,  in  the  case  of  fever,  hypno- 
tism, or  trance,  is  due  to  a  surrender  or  waiving  of  in- 
fluence on  the  part  of  the  conscious  mind — in  fever, 


SUBCONSCIOUSNESS  AND  SUGGESTION    267 

because  there  is  too  much  weakness  to  resist  and  not 
surrender;  and  in  hypnotism  and  trance,  because  there 
is  no  strong  wish  to  do  otherwise.  This  is  proved  by 
the  fact  that  some  men  can  not  be  hypnotized,  and 
comparatively  few  can  go  into  a  trance.  By  many, 
therefore,  the  methods  used  in  order  to  make  one  lose 
his  consciousness  can  be  successfully  resisted.  But 
even  where  there  is  no  loss  of  consciousness,  where  the 
mind  apparently  remains  in  a  normal  state,  the  sug- 
gestion that  controls  the  subconscious  processes  may 
be  due  to  a  surrender  analogous  in  kind  tho  much  less 
complete  in  degree.  Instances  of  this  form  of  surrender 
many  of  us  can  recall  from  our  own  experience.  We 
have  said  things  and  done  things  different  from  what 
not  only  our  conscious  reason  and  judgment,  but  our 
better  inclination  would  approve;  and  all  this  ap- 
parently because  some  one,  in  some  mysterious  and 
occult  way,  has  influenced  us  through  suggestions  given 
to  our  subconscious  nature. 

Now  in  what  circumstances  do  our  minds  make 
either  a  complete  or  a  partial  surrender  of  conscious 
self-control?  Almost  invariably,  so  far  as  can  be  ascer- 
tained, it  is  when  another  person  so  affects  us  that  we 
are  willing  to  be  controlled  by  his  suggestion;  in  other 
words,  when  we  have  sufficient  confidence,  or,  as  used 
in  a  broad  sense,  faith  in  him  for  the  kind  of  control 
that  in  the  circumstances  his  suggestion  needs  to  exer- 
cise. This  can  be  affirmed  even  of  cases  in  which  a 
man — as,  for  instance,  one  who  goes  into  a  professional 


268        THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

trance — may  be  supposed  to  hypnotize  himself.  His 
own  personal  will  then  causes  him  to  surrender  his  own 
conscious  to  his  own  subconscious  nature.  Usually, 
however,  he  surrenders  to  some  one  else — a  spiritist 
medium  to  the  person  who  comes  to  consult  him,  a 
hypnotic  patient  to  a  hypnotizer;  and  when  the  in- 
fluence is  exerted  in  connection  with  continued  con- 
sciousness, as  in  the  sphere  of  society,  politics,  or  re- 
ligion— when  the  surrender  is  made  to  some  lover, 
pleader,  or  exhorter — it  stands  to  reason,  in  all  such 
cases,  that  a  man  surrenders  to  some  one  in  whom,  for 
some  cause,  he  has  confidence.  In  a  case  of  hypnotism 
the  result  is  expected  to  be  merely  temporary  and 
comparatively  unimportant.  Therefore  the  mind  in- 
fluenced need  have  confidence  in  merely  the  skill  and 
professional  honesty  of  the  operator.  In  other  cases, 
as  in  that  of  religion,  the  result  is  represented,  and  often 
expected,  to  be  of  permanent  and  profound  importance. 
Therefore  the  mind,  before  it  can  yield  to  the  influence, 
needs  to  have  the  greatest  possible  confidence  in  the 
one  to  whom  the  surrender  is  expected  to  be  made. 
This  fact  becomes  more  apparent  in  view  of  that  which 
has  already  been  pointed  out  as  the  most  noteworthy 
difference  between  the  conditions  in  the  methods  allied 
to  hypnotism  and  those  allied  to  religion,  namely,  the 
fact  that,  in  the  former,  the  conscious  mind  allows 
itself  to  do  nothing,  sometimes  not  enough  to  remain 
aware  of  its  own  identity;  whereas,  in  the  other  state, 
the  mind  remains  in  the  highest  degree  alert,  the  same 


FAITH  IN  SELF  AND  FORMS  269 

principle  applying  here  as  in  inspiration,  as  explained 
on  pages  92  to  96.  Even  in  that  ecstatic  condition 
in  which,  as  in  the  frenzy  of  fanaticism,  the  conscious 
reason  seems  to  be  paralyzed,  it  is,  nevertheless,  very 
wide-awake,  as  compared  with  the  slumber  which  char- 
acterizes— sometimes,  but  not  always — the  subject  of 
hypnotism. 

Extremely  important  for  us  to  notice  here  is  the 
connection  between  the  action  of  the  mind,  when  sub- 
consciously receiving  or  developing  suggestions,  and 
the  influence  upon  this  mind  of  personality.  As  has 
been  said,  this  personality  may  be  one's  own.  A  man 
may  hypnotize  himself;  or,  without  doing  this  con- 
sciously, he  may  do  it  in  effect  by  surrendering  the 
whole  drift  of  his  thought  to  his  own  inner  instincts 
and  impulses.  Thus  Milton,  Wordsworth,  and  Napo- 
leon, at  a  time  when  no  outside  person  recognized  that 
for  which  they  were  fitted,  are  said  to  have  had  faith 
in  themselves.  Usually,  however,  that  which  awakens 
faith  is  some  other  one's  personality.  Occasionally, 
this  statement  may  seem  disputable.  But  even  then, 
as  when  one's  faith  is  awakened  by  a  book,  it  is  a  ques- 
tion whether  he  is  not  influenced  really  by  the  person- 
ality behind  the  book.  As  for  effects  produced  by  the 
dogmas  and  ordinances  of  the  Church,  it  might  be 
argued  that  it  is  less  these  than  the  personality  of 
parents  who  accept  them  that  influences  the  faith  of 
children,  as  well  as  that  it  is  the  individual  or  collect- 
ive personality  of  those  who  administer  or  attend  the 


270        THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSP1RA TION 

services  that  influences  the  faith  of  others.  At  any 
rate,  no  one  can  deny  that  such  is  mainly  the  case. 
There  may  be  differences,  too,  in  the  quality  and  quan- 
tity of  the  suggestions  that  prove  influential.  Mere 
words  may  have  a  certain  effect.  A  man  may  hypno- 
tize himself,  as  it  were,  by  repeating  a  prayer,  as  in 
incantation.  A  priest  may  hypnotize  him  by  waving 
in  front  of  his  eyes  a  crucifix  or  the  eucharist;  but,  even 
in  the  latter  case,  the  influence  of  the  personal  char- 
acter of  the  priest,  as  shown  in  the  preceding  chapter, 
may  be  very  much  greater  than  that  of  the  mere  mate- 
rial symbol  which  is  used. 

For  these  reasons,  when  we  are  searching  for  that 
which  is  best  fitted  to  influence  religious  faith,  we 
should  not  be  satisfied  with  anything  that  fails  to 
present  the  most  exalted  conception  of  religious  per- 
sonality. It  is  only  in  the  degree  in  which  the  sug- 
gestion of  this  is  wholly  what  it  should  be  that  the  faith 
which  is  awakened  can  exert  a  wholly  regenerating  in- 
fluence. Why  this  is  so  is  easy  to  explain.  When 
men  have  sufficient  confidence  in  another  to  surrender 
their  subconscious  mentality  to  his  suggestions,  they 
can  not  do  otherwise  than  begin  to  imitate  his  modes  of 
thinking,  feeling,  and  acting.  In  other  words,  they  can 
not  do  otherwise  than  begin  to  develop  logically  the 
suggestions  which  they  have  received  from  this  person 
with  reference  to  either  theory  or  conduct,  their  minds, 
in  these  regards,  acting  in  exact  analogy  to  the  way  in 
which  a  hypnotized  man  accepts  and  fulfills  the  sug- 


FAITH  IN  PERSONALITY  271 

gestions  of  the  hypnotizer  (see  page  116).  As  indi- 
cated already  on  page  120,  the  story  of  the  conversion 
of  the  thief  upon  the  cross  beside  that  of  Jesus  (Luke 
23;  40-43)  corresponds  entirely  to  what  might  be  in- 
ferred from  a  knowledge  of  the  methods  through  which 
the  human  mind  must  be  influenced — in  case  there 
be  any  such  thing  as  a  subconscious  spiritual  nature, 
or  a  religious  effect  produced  upon  it.  The  thief 
might  have  profest  to  believe  in  the  Christ,  and  not 
done  so.  But,  in  case  that  which  he  had  seen  and 
heard  had  really  convinced  him  of  the  supreme,  and, 
for  this  reason,  divine  quality  of  the  Spirit  that  was  in 
the  Christ,  from  that  moment  the  acceptance  of  this 
fact  with  the  new  premise  from  which  all  his  mental 
subconscious  processes  were  to  be  developed,  would 
have  been  enough  to  change  his  entire  conceptions  of 
life  and  of  its  obligations.  If  from  that  time  forward 
he  had  really  believed  the  love  manifested  by  the  Christ 
to  be  the  sovereign  principle  ruling  in  heaven,  and 
himself  to  have  been  called  to  be  a  citizen  of  that 
heaven,  there  is  no  psychological  reason  why  this 
premise  and  the  endeavor  in  his  own  experience  to 
carry  it  out  logically  should  not  have  made  him  in 
spirit  and,  so  far  as  possible  with  his  physical  frailties, 
in  earthly  relations  also,  a  citizen  of  the  heavenly 
kingdom. 

There  may  be  sound  philosophy,  therefore,  in  the 
theory  that  true  religious  life  may  be  traceable  to  faith 
awakened  by  preaching,  or  by  other  agencies  used  in 


272        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

the  Church.  But  we  must  not  forget  the  overbalancing 
influence  also  of  the  preacher,  or  officiator.  As  for  the 
preaching,  it  seems  to  be  in  accordance  with  one  of  the 
most  indisputable  of  nature's  laws,  that  a  man,  through 
the  workings  of  subconscious  mental  or  spiritual  proc- 
esses, should  become  that  which  he  is  told  that  he  may 
become.  There  may  be  much  truth,  too,  in  the  theory 
that  religious  life  may  result  from  a  very  sudden  con- 
version. It  may  be  true  besides  this,  inasmuch  as  the 
subconscious  nature  is  influenced  by  suggestion  im- 
parted in  connection  with  examples  unconsciously  set 
by  individuals  still  more  than  by  their  conscious  words 
and  deeds  (see  page  261),  that  this  sudden  conversion 
may  often  take  place  in  connection  with  a  general 
movement  such  as  is  termed  a  revival,  in  which  vast 
multitudes  are  simultaneously  prompted  to  recognize 
their  religious  obligations.  It  is  a  mistake,  however, 
to  suppose  that  revivals  are  peculiar  to  a  few  favored 
sects  of  Christians,  or  even  to  Christianity.  All  human 
communities  accepting  any  possible  form  of  religion— 
from  North  American  Indians  to  Arabian  Mohamme- 
dans— have,  at  different  times,  become  subject  to  these 
phenomena.  Wherever  the  revivals  have  occurred, 
too,  the  overflow  in  the  mind  of  influence  from  the 
subconscious  and  the  consequent  whelming,  to  some 
extent,  of  the  conscious,  with  its  necessarily  rational 
control,  has  resulted  in  a  certain  amount  of  irrational, 
and  therefore  deleterious,  action.  Even  in  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  Peter  found  it  necessary  to  say  (Acts  2;  15), 


SCRIPTURAL  FAITH  273 

"These  are  not  drunken,  as  ye  suppose,  seeing  it  is  but 
the  third  hour  of  the  day."  Both  the  generally  bene- 
ficial effect  of  these  revivals,  issuing  in  many  a  sudden 
conversion,  and  their  occasional  excesses  and  injurious 
effects  are  explicable  according  to  the  theories  con- 
necting the  subconscious  and  the  religious  as  advanced 
in  this  book. 

The  same  theories  enable  us  to  recognize  that  faith, 
too,  is  not  peculiar,  as  is  sometimes  supposed,  to  Chris- 
tianity. Only  the  declaring  of  faith  to  be  the  guiding 
religious  principle  is  peculiar.  As  such,  it  is  related  to 
the  revelation  of  the  Christ  in  much  the  same  way  as 
induction  as  a  philosophic  principle  is  related  to  the 
writings  of  Bacon.  Induction  had  been  practised  for 
centuries  before  the  time  of  Bacon.  What  he  did  was 
to  recognize  the  fact,  and  emphasize  the  importance 
of  it.  In  a  similar  way,  the  Christ  recognized  and 
emphasized  the  importance  of  faith. 

Now,  having  noticed  what  is  the  source  of  faith,  let 
us  consider,  for  a  little,  its  nature.  The  Scriptures  tell 
us  in  Heb.  11;  1,  that  faith  is  "the  evidence  of  things 
not  seen" — i.e.,  the  evidence  in  consciousness,  augmented 
by  all  the  comprehension  of  which  the  conscious  mind 
is  capable,  of  an  influence  beyond  or  below  the  reach 
of  consciousness;  of  an  influence  which,  tho  manifested 
in  its  results,  is  not  in  itself  perceptible.  At  first 
thought,  the  reader  may  be  inclined  to  think  that, 
while  there  may  be  in  faith  evidences  of  impulses, 
whims,  ideals,  hopes,  that  actuate  some  people,  there 


274        THE  PSYCH OL OGY  OF  INSP1RA TION 

is  no  evidence,  as  is  now  to  be  maintained,  of  what  may 
be  termed  the  dominance  of  subconscious  intellection 
as  the  latter  is  described  in  Chapters  III  and  IV.  But 
let  him  reflect  a  little.  The  Christ,  in  speaking  in 
Luke  15;  17,  of  the  turning-point  in  the  life  of  the 
prodigal  son,  says  that  "he  came  to  himself."  This 
is  the  exact  language  in  which  almost  every  one  de- 
scribes the  way  in  which  a  man  who  has  been  insane^ 
intoxicated,  or  asleep  gets  out  of  this  state  into  one  that 
is  normal  and  rational.  What  the  Christ  evidently 
meant  was  that  at  this  time  the  prodigal  came  to  a 
consciousness  of  his  own  mind  and  life,  especially  in 
their  higher  spiritual  relations— to  a  consciousness^ 
therefore,  of  those  promptings  of  the  better  subcon- 
scious or  spiritual  self  which  ought  to  be  supreme  in 
every  rational  being.  It  is  because  of  bringing  one  to 
a  consciousness  of  these  that  conscience  imparts  a  feel- 
ing of  obligation. 

The  fact  alone  of  coming  to  consciousness  in  the 
sense  just  indicated  might  not  make  a  man  of  faith, 
much  less  a  man  of  Christian  faith.  Faith  is  deter- 
mined not  by  the  mere  recognition,  but  by  the  enthrone- 
ment of  these  inward  promptings;  and  Christian  faith 
by  the  enthronement  of  the  particular  promptings  to 
which  the  Christ  directed  attention.  At  the  same  time, 
a  recognition  of  these  promptings  in  any  form  must 
tend  to  make  one  correct  his  conscious  by  his  subcon- 
scious intellection,  and  thus  tend  in  the  direction  of 
faith. 


CHRISTIAN  FAITH  275 

Notice  too  that,  as  thus  interpreted,  faith  is  the 
evidence  of  obedience  to  a  controlling  tendency  di- 
recting not  merely  toward  opinion,  but,  as  has  already 
been  shown  in  other  connections,  toward  practise;  for 
faith  impels  toward  every  direction  in  which  a  man  can 
exercise  conscious  intelligence.  "Shew  me  thy  faith 
without  thy  works,"  says  the  Apostle,  in  James  2;  18, 
"and  I  will  shew  thee  my  faith  by  my  works."  Ac- 
cordingly, we  may  say  that  in  connection  with  any 
exercise  of  feeling,  thought,  or  will  faith  involves  a 
condition  of  conscious  dependence  upon  a  subconscious 
source  of  spiritual  intelligence  and  guidance.  Faith 
includes  in  its  range,  therefore,  not  only  mental  assent 
and  belief,  but  also  emotional  and  volitional  acquies- 
cence and  loyalty;  in  fact,  all  that  is  indicated  by  the 
terms  faithfulness  and  fidelity. 

Once  more,  it  needs  to  be  noticed  that,  even  with 
faithfulness  and  fidelity  characterizing  a  man's  faith, 
these  do  not  necessarily  insure  perfection  of  character. 
A  fanatic  may  have  these,  and  be  very  far  from  being 
perfect.  This  is  so,  in  the  first  place,  because  of  the 
dependence  of  faith  upon  what  one  has  already,  through 
experience  and  habit,  stored  in  subconsciousness.  The 
faith  itself  may  be  genuine,  and  yet,  working,  as  it 
often  does,  on  very  imperfect  material — the  memories 
and  associations  of  some  low  form  of  life — its  results 
may  be  very  imperfect.  In  the  second  place,  the  same 
may  be  true  because  of  the  dependence  of  faith  upon 
the  degree  and  kind  of  conscious  intelligence  through 


276       THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

which  the  promptings  from  the  subconscious  must  be 
outwardly  exprest.  It  is  impossible  to  suppose  that 
any  of  these  when  modified  at  all — and  they  are  always 
modified  to  some  extent — can  assume  exactly  the  same 
phase  when  passing  through  the  conscious  mind  of  the 
educated  and  of  the  uneducated — that  they  will  occasion 
in  both  exactly  the  same  thoughts  or  deeds.  Here 
again  we  may  notice  the  analogy  between  the  results 
of  faith  and  of  what  we  term  conscience.  Conscience 
impels  a  man  toward  that  which  he  thinks  ought  to  be 
done;  but,  as  pointed  out  in  Chapter  XI,  exactly  what 
it  is  that  ought  to  be  done  is,  in  each  case,  apparently 
left  to  be  decided  by  his  own  intelligence.  A  cannibal 
may  suppose  that  he  ought  to  eat  his  enemies,  but  an 
enlightened  man  that  he  ought  to  feed  them.  Now 
why  should  not  an  analogous  principle  be  fulfilled  in 
connection  with  all  tendencies  started  in  the  subcon- 
scious mind?  And  if  so,  what  are  we  to  conclude? 
That  they  do  not  tend  toward  the  right?  Not  at  all- 
only  that,  while  they  tend  toward  this,  they  do  not 
immediately  attain  it.  Once  more,  genuine  faith  may 
produce  imperfect  results,  in  the  third  place,  because 
of  its  dependence  upon  a  man's  ability,  even  when  he 
knows  what  should  be  done,  to  perform  it.  Faith, 
however  strong  and  earnest,  can  not  make  a  man  cease 
to  express  his  thoughts  and  feelings  through  his  con- 
scious mind  and  body,  both  comparatively  weak,  if  not 
wicked.  But  faith  can  turn  his  energies  in  the  right 
direction,  and  he  can  begin  to  walk  by  it,  even  tho 


CREEDS  AS  INFLUENCING  FAITH          277 

he  may  not,  for  many  a  long  day,  walk  very  fast  or  far, 
or  without  much  stumbling. 

What  has  been  said  of  the  source  and  nature  of  faith 
will  enable  us  to  discuss  intelligently  that  which  was 
mentioned  in  the  opening  paragraph  of  this  chapter, 
namely,  the  tracing  of  faith  to  the  agencies  employed 
by  the  Church.  For  our  present  purpose,  all  these 
agencies  may  be  classed  under  two  heads:  first,  those 
connected  with  what  may  be  termed  the  authoritative 
formulation  of  opinions  as  exprest  in  dogmatic  creeds 
or  rituals,  the  influence  of  which  may  be  dissociated 
from  that  of  personality;  and,  second,  those  connected 
with  authoritative  personality,  tho,  as  means  employed 
by  the  Church,  this  may  refer  to  the  influence  supposed 
to  be  exerted  by  the  public  office  or  position  of  the 
person  rather  than  by  his  private  character.  Let  us 
begin  by  considering  the  influence  of  formulation  aside 
from  personality.  Of  course,  for  reasons  given  on  page 
262,  the  mere  fact  of  being  exerted  aside  from  person- 
ality would  tend  to  show  that  the  effects  upon  faith  of 
this  influence  can  not  be  the  most  powerful  possible. 
But  this  fact  is  to  be  considered  under  our  next  head. 
At  present,  let  us  consider  the  effects  of  formulation  in 
itself.  Doing  so,  we  shall  notice  that  its  peculiarity  is 
this :  it  presents  for  the  substance  that  is  to  be  accepted 
by  what  is  termed  faith  that  which  is — not  incidentally, 
as  would  be  true  of  all  such  influence,  but  necessarily— 
a  result  of  some  mind's  conscious  action.  Nothing  can 
be  formulated  in  either  creeds  or  rituals  of  which  this 


278        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

can  not  be  said.  They  always  embody  some  con- 
clusion that  certain  men  have  reached  as  a  result  of 
their  own  thinking;  and  it  is  this  conclusion  that  fur- 
nishes the  premise,  accepted  through  faith,  from  which 
a  mind  according  to  methods  indicated  on  page  147, 
subconsciously  develops  its  own  thought  and  tendency 
to  action.  This  is  the  same  as  to  say  that  formulation 
aims  to  do  for  minds  framed  to  work  subconsciously  a 
large  part,  at  least,  of  that  work  which  may  legitimately 
be  termed  their  own.  Formulation  seeks,  so  far  as  it 
can,  to  prevent  these  minds  from  drawing  their  own 
conclusions.  It  attempts  to  suppress  and  keep  dor- 
mant, in  a  large  degree  at  least,  that  in  a  man  which, 
more  nearly  than  anything  else  of  which  we  know, 
constitutes  the  essence  of  spiritual  activity  (see  page 
55).  Thus  it  may  be  said  that  faith  in  creeds  or  rites 
— if  indeed  it  can  be  rightly  termed  faith — is  inevitably 
connected  with  a  lack  of  faith  in  the  human  mind  or 
spirit;  and,  so,  why  not  also  in  the  Creator  that  made 
this  spirit  what  it  is? 

But  more  than  this  can  be  said  against  a  phase  of 
faith  awakened  through  the  agency  of  formulation.  It 
is  one  thing,  when  influencing  a  man  through  faith,  to 
present  to  subconscious  intellection  for  logical  develop- 
ment well-ascertained  facts.  It  is  another  very  different 
thing  to  present  for  this  certain  inferences  that  men 
have  consciously  drawn  from  these  facts.  The  reason 
for  saying  this  is  that  these  latter — the  inferences- 
are  almost  never  any  more  than  very  partially  true. 


CREEDS  AS  INFLUENCING  FAITH          279 

They  are  influenced  not  alone  by  the  premise  from 
which  they  have  been  deduced,  and  by  its  legitimate 
unfoldment  in  subconsciousness  (see  page  152),  but 
also  by  many  surrounding  conditions  that  are  seen  or 
heard  during  the  time  when  the  premise  is  in  process 
of  unfoldment.  Were  we  to  tell  a  man,  while  in  full 
possession  of  his  consciousness,  to  act  like  the  Emperor 
William,  he  might  be  so  influenced  by  surrounding  per- 
sons and  things  and  by  his  relations  to  them  that,  altho 
a  good  mimic,  his  representation  would  be  quite  in- 
complete, and,  at  the  best,  perhaps,  appear  like  a 
caricature.  But  were  we  to  hypnotize  him,  and  leave 
the  whole  work  to  be  done  by  subconscious  mentality, 
the  imitation  throughout  would  be  as  perfect  as  a  per- 
fect memory  and  power  of  personation  could  make  it. 
(see  page  113).  So  if  we  try  to  make  a  man,  while  in 
full  possession  of  his  consciousness,  act  out  the  princi- 
ples of  the  golden  rule,  he  will  go  to  his  place  of  busi- 
ness, and  perceive,  in  the  real  world  about  him,  so 
many  circumstances  and  conditions  almost  necessarily 
modifying  the  possibility  of  the  exact  fulfilment  of  this 
rule  that  in  little  that  he  does  can  its  regulative  in- 
fluence be  recognized.  But  if  we  hypnotize  him,  and 
leave  the  result  to  subconscious  mentality,  almost 
everything  that  he  appears  to  think  or  to  wish  will, 
probably,  be  in  complete  accord  with  this  rule's  strict 
application  (see  page  113).  What  dogmatism  does 
is  to  take  inferences  drawn  by  one  mind  consciously, 
and  therefore  more  or  less  erroneously,  and  make 


280        THE  PS YCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

these  the  premises  from  which  another  mind,  so  far  as 
allowed  to  work  at  all,  must  subconsciously  draw  its 
conclusions.  What  must  be  the  result?  What  but 
error,  error  necessarily  and  inevitably? 

This  can  be  shown  by  noticing  the  influence  of  al- 
most any  doctrine  of  the  Church.  For  the  present; 
two  illustrations  will  suffice.  Take  the  bread  and  wine 
of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  what  is  said  of  them  in  the 
Scriptures.  If,  on  the  one  hand,  these  be  presented 
without  any  dogmatic  inferences  that  men  have  drawn 
from  them  and  seek  to  enforce  on  others,  subconscious 
intellection,  in  most  cases,  will  accept  as  a  premise  the 
general  suggestion  of  spiritual  communion  with  a 
spiritual  Lord,  and  develop  it  logically  in  such  a  way  as 
not  to  interfere  with  the  exercise  of  sufficient  intel- 
ligence to  recognize  that  many  other  things  besides 
partaking  of  these  elements  are  necessary  in  order  to 
bring  one  into  full  possession  of  all  that  there  is  in  the 
Christian  life.  But  if,  on  the  other  hand,  that  which 
the  mind  accepts  as  a  premise  be  the  dogma  which  men 
have  formulated  as  a  result,  not  of  inner  subconscious 
mental  processes,  but  of  outer  considerations  consciously 
perceived,  such  as  the  supposed  practical  necessity  of 
making  men  think  it  absolutely  essential  to  partake  of 
the  elements — the  dogma  to  the  effect  that  the  bread 
and  wine  are  transformed  literally  into  the  body  and 
blood  of  the  Christ — then  through  the  agency  of  faith 
the  resulting  conception  held  in  subconsciousness  as  a 
guiding  principle  over  the  communicant's  opinion  and 


FAITH  NEEDS  SUGGESTIVE  TRUTH        281 

conduct  will  be  the  conviction  that  he  has  taken  into 
his  body  for  digestion  a  portion  of  the  Lord's  body; 
and  that  this,  of  itself,  without  further  effort  on  his 
own  part,  will  leaven  the  whole  lump  of  his  nature  and 
make  it  like  his  Lord's.  Nor  is  this  kind  of  influence 
peculiar  to  a  single  church.  In  connection  with  dog- 
mas very  different  from  the  one  just  mentioned,  there 
is  often  sung,  especially  in  revival  meetings,  the  fol- 
lowing: 

"Nothing  either  great  or  small 

Remains  for  me  to  do  ; 
Jesus  died  and  paid  it  all, 
All  the  debt  I  owe." 

Here  again,  if  the  dogmatic  wording  in  this  form  be 
not  the  premise  presented  to  his  mind,  a  man  will 
have  no  difficulty  in  recognizing  that  other  considera- 
tions are  necessary  in  order  to  express  the  whole  truth ; 
and  he  will  try  to  discern  what  this  truth  is,  and  let 
it  alone  develop  that  which  in  his  inner  nature  prompts 
to  opinion  and  conduct.  But  if  his  faith  accept  as  the 
premise  to  be  developed  by  subconscious  logic  no  more 
than  is  formulated  in  these  verses,  he  will  be  impelled 
to  the  exact  level  of  religious  attainment,  and  no 
higher,  than  the  logical  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from 
the  statement  contained  in  them  and  from  it  alone. 
The  result  will  be  an  ideal  of  Christian  life  supposed  to 
be  satisfied  by  an  endeavor  to  do 

"Nothing  either  great  or  small. 

Now  let  us  turn  from  the  influence  supposed  by  the 
Church  to  be  exerted  upon  faith  by  the  formulation  of 


282        THE  PSYCHOL  0  G  Y  OF  INSPIRA  TION 

opinions  as  exprest  in  dogmatic  creeds  or  rituals  to  that 
supposed  to  be  exerted  by  personality.  As  said  before 
on  page  262,  the  Church  usually  is  apt  to  connect  this 
influence  with  that  exerted  by  official  position  rather 
than  by  private  character.  How  seldom  is  the  priest 
considered  to  be  an  exemplifier  of  a  mode  of  life  that  all 
men  are  expected  to  follow!  Are  there  any  who  sup- 
pose that  his  celibacy,  or  his  costume,  or  many  other 
of  his  peculiarities  are  to  be  imitated  by  people  in  gen- 
eral? Is  it  not  true  that,  in  almost  all  of  his  relations 
to  others,  he  appears  mainly  in  the  role  of  a  dictator  of 
a  mode  of  life  to  be  led  riot  by  himself,  but  by  them? 
Notice,  however,  that,  according  to  the  inferences  log- 
ically following  upon  the  line  of  thought  already  pre- 
sented, anything  tending  to  separate  him  in  appear- 
ance or  pursuits  from  those  to  whom  he  is  supposed 
to  minister  must  tend  to  lessen  his  influence  over  their 
spiritual  natures.  These  are  chiefly  influenced,  as  shown 
on  page  270,  by  that  which  induces  to  imitation. 
Anything  therefore  which  can  not  be  imitated,  or  even 
expected  to  be  imitated,  is,  owing  to  its  very  nature, 
unfitted  to  influence  the  spirit  in  the  highest  degree 
possible.  It  is  strange  that  the  unreformed  churches 
have  never  recognized,  for  instance,  that  the  main  rea- 
son for  such  good  as  they  have  done  has  been  traceable 
less  to  the  dictation  and  domineering  of  their  higher 
clergy,  who  have  stood  apart  from  the  masses,  than  to 
the  pale  faces  of  their  priests  and  nuns,  who,  not- 
withstanding a  garb  that  has  tended  somewhat  in  the 


FA  TTH  IN  THE  CHRIST  283 

other  direction,  have,  nevertheless,  made  themselves  one 
with  the  people,  and  seemed  to  spend  their  lives  in 
going  about  among  them  and  "doing  good"  (Acts  10; 
38).  It  is  still  more  strange  that  these  churches  have 
never  recognized  to  what  extent  their  ignoring  of  this 
influence  of  personal  character,  and  the  substituting, 
for  faith  awakened  to  activity  by  it,  a  trust  supposed 
to  be  awakened  by  mere  dogmas  and  decrees,  by  mere 
ordinances  and  officials,  has  tended  to  throw  into  the 
shade  that  faith  awakened  by  the  personality  of  the 
Christ — or,  as  one  might  say,  faith  in  the  Spirit  of  the 
Christ — which  alone  can  be  at  the  basis  of  spiritual  de- 
velopment in  his  follower.  How  can  the  intelligent, 
not  to  say  the  enlightened,  suppose  that  souls  when 
hungering  for  the  bread  of  spiritual  life  can  be  sated 
with  the  stones  of  a  material  altar;  or  when  aspiring  for 
kinship  with  the  Master  of  Nazareth,  can  imagine  this 
desire  fulfilled  while  merely  witnessing  the  processions 
and  performances  of  others  like  themselves!  Such 
conceptions  as  these  are  all  the  more  remarkable  in 
view  of  a  fact  which  every  student  of  human  nature 
knows.  This  is  the  fact  that  no  regeneration  of  char- 
acter is  possible  except  in  the  degree  in  which  the  sub- 
ject of  it  has,  in  some  way,  obtained  an  ideal  of  what 
his  life  should  be  that  is  higher  and  purer  than  the  one 
that  he  already  possesses.  But  whence  can  come  this 
ideal;  in  fact,  any  ideal?  It  is  always  the  creation  of 
the  mind  that  conceives  it.  For  this,  if  for  no  other 
reason,  it  can  never  be  said  to  be  dictated  from  the 


284        THE  PS YCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

outside.  It  is  never  more  than  suggested  from  this; 
then,  afterward,  as  a  result  of  subconscious  logic,  it  is 
developed  within. 

This  fact  shows  us  why  it  is  that  what  is  known  of  the 
character  and  life  of  the  Christ  and  of  the  effects  of  his 
work  in  his  own  and  subsequent  ages,  slight  as  some 
may  deem  the  world's  amount  of  accurate  information 
with  reference  to  these,  is  nevertheless  sufficient  for 
the  purposes  intended.  Let  it  be  granted  that  men, 
in  enthroning  him,  as  they  have  done,  have  robed  him 
in  the  garments  of  their  own  ideality.  The  texture  of 
this  has  been  woven  in  the  subconscious  nature  from 
threads  of  evidence  suggestive  of  such  intrinsic  lofti- 
ness and  love  that  the  ideal  resulting  has  been  almost 
infinitely  inspiring  to  the  individual  and  the  race. 

The  fact  just  considered  shows  us  again  why  this 
ideal,  and  the  faith  which  alone  can  make  men  strive  to 
realize  it,  never  can  do  all  that  they  are  fitted  to  do  for 
a  mind  except  when  this  is  left  free  to  develop  thought 
and  action  according  to  its  own  subconscious  prompt- 
ings. As  indicated  on  page  136,  to  interfere  with  this 
free  development  is  to  subject  the  mind  to  the  rule  of 
the  material  instead  of  the  spiritual.  But  if  the  mind 
be  left  free,  what  then?  Then  we  must  have  outward 
expressions  of  spiritual  faith  that  differ  both  from  one 
another  and  from  the  forms  that  gave  the  suggestions 
from  which  they  were  developed.  If  a  man  were  a 
parrot,  it  might  be  enough  for  him  to  learn  to  repeat 
by  rote  the  words  of  a  creed.  If  he  were  an  ape,  it 


FAITH  NEEDS  FREEDOM  285 

might  be  enough  for  him  to  imitate  the  actions  of  others 
in  a  ceremonial.  But  he  is  a  man  with  a  mind,  and  a 
mind — owing  to  the  law  controlling  subconscious  logical 
action — never  gives  forth  that  which  has  entered  it  in 
exactly  the  same  form  in  which  it  has  been  received. 
No  one  can  even  plant  a  growing  bush  in  soil  and  then 
draw  it  forth  without  finding  some  of  the  soil  attached 
to  its  roots.  Nor  can  he  leave  it  in  the  ground  for  a 
season  without  its  bearing  limbs  or  leaves  that  change 
its  appearance.  How  much  less  can  one  expect  to  plant 
seeds  of  thought  in  the  mind,  and — in  case  it  be  living- 
expect  nothing  to  come  forth  different  from  that  which 
has  been  placed  in  it ! 

In  view  of  these  facts,  we  may  perceive  an  element 
of  divineness  in  the  Scriptures  wholly  overlooked  often 
by  those  who  insist  upon  its  literal  interpretation. 
It  would  be  almost  impossible  to  conceive  of  any  num- 
ber of  ordinary  men,  with  the  tendency  which  almost 
all  invariably  manifest  to  become  dictators  or  dogma- 
tists, devising  such  a  method  of  presenting  truth  as  is 
found  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  Think  only 
of  the  latter.  How  vaguely  does  it  indicate  any  system 
of  theology,  or  any  form  of  ecclesiastical  worship  or 
government?  Evidently  the  whole  intention — so  far 
as  results  can  indicate  intention — was  to  govern  a  man 
by  giving  expression  to  certain  principles,  and  to  leave 
him  at  liberty  to  develop  from  these  such  forms  of 
thought  and  practise  as  commended  themselves  to  his 
individual  judgment.  Yet,  if  this  were  the  intention, 


286        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

think  how  it  has  been  thwarted!  There  have  been 
times  when  no  individual,  even  tho  accepting  the  gen- 
eral facts  underlying  orthodoxy,  was  allowed  to  give 
expression  of  his  personal  interpretations  of  these,  nor 
even  to  worship  in  any  language  other  than  that  pre- 
scribed by  authority.  To-day,  in  many  places,  there 
is  the  same  tendency.  It  seems  neither  Biblical  nor 
rational.  How  can  one  justify  the  assuming  of  a  right 
to  use  the  machinery  of  the  Church  for  this  purpose? 
When  a  forest  is  dead,  we  may  cut  it  up  into  houses  and 
villages;  but,  while  it  is  living,  if  we  wish  it  to  con- 
tinue so,  we  must  let  it  alone.  If  the  religious  tendency 
in  man  be  a  development  of  his  natural  constitution, 
just  as  is  the  case  with  the  artistic  or  the  scientific,  then 
it  must  fulfil  the  same  general  laws;  and  it  is  impossible 
to  expect,  and  irrational  to  plan,  for  a  time  when  faith 
shall  manifest  in  doctrine  or  practise  anything  resem- 
bling absolute  uniformity. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

UNITY  OF  RELIGIOUS  BELIEF  AS  AFFECTED  BY  CON- 
SIDERING SPIRITUAL  TRUTH  SUGGESTIVE 

Principles  Unfolded  in  the  Preceding  Chapter  Can  Be  Applied  in  All 
Religions— What  Are  the  Most  Common  and  Universal  Religious 
Conceptions— Communications  from  Bad  and  Good  Spirits— Hom- 
age Appeasing  the  First,  and  Soliciting  Favors  from  the  Second, 
Who  Are  Often  Supposed  to  Be  Heroes  and  Ancestors — Formu- 
lation of  Opinions  Concerning  These  and  Their  Teachings  Into 
Systems  of  Belief,  as  by  Copernicus,  Zoroaster,  Buddha,  Moses, 
Mohammed,  and  the  Christ— Christianity  Not  Necessarily  Antago- 
nistic to  Other  Religions,  as  Shown  by  Its  Holding  Many  Similar 
Beliefs — Acknowledging  Certain  of  the  Truths  in  These  Religions 
Might  Benefit  Christianity— This  Need  Not  Imply  Acknowledging 
That  Everything  in  Any  Other  System  Is  True — Nor  Need  It 
Throw  Discredit  Upon  Missionary  Effort,  but  Lead  It  to  Emphasize 
in  Christianity  That  which  Is  Lacking  in  Other  Systems,  and  Is 
Essential  in  Its  Own— Religious  Unity— This  Must  Begin  by  First 
Acknowledging  the  Truth  Common  to  All  Religions. 

There  is  a  sense  in  which  the  statement  made  at  the 
end  of  the  preceding  chapter  may  be  applied  not  only 
to  the  various  branches  of  the  Christian  Church,  but  to 
the  various  branches  of  religion  in  general.  That  any 
spiritual  connection  exists  between  all  these,  especially 
between  all  of  them  and  one's  own  form  of  religion, 
is  difficult  for  some  men  to  perceive.  But  such  a  con- 
nection has  already  been  suggested  on  page  129.  In 
discussing  it  further,  it  is  natural  to  begin  by  noticing 
the  opinions  held  on  the  subject  by  the  founders  of 
Christianity  at  or  near  the  time  when  it  started.  Few 

287 


288        THE  PS YCH OLOGY  OF  1NSPIRA TION 

occasions  seem  to  have  occurred  in  which  to  express 
such  opinions;  but  when  they  did  occur  there  is  no 
doubt  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  testimony  which  they 
present.  In  speaking,  in  Matt.  8;  10,  11,  12,  of  the 
Roman  centurion  who  was  an  adherent  neither  of  the 
Jewish  religion  nor  of  the  new  religion  of  the  Christ, 
the  latter  declares,  "  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  I  have  not 
found  so  great  faith,  no,  not  in  Israel.  And  I  say  unto 
you  that  many  shall  come  from  the  east  and  west,  and 
shall  sit  down  with  Abraham  and  Isaac  and  Jacob  in 
the  kingdom  of  heaven.  But  the  children  of  the  king- 
dom shall  be  cast  out."  Again,  the  Apostle  Peter,  in 
speaking,  in  Acts  10;  35,  of  Cornelius,  another  Roman 
centurion,  who,  like  the  one  just  mentioned,  apparently 
knew  very  little  of  either  the  Jewish  or  the  Christian 
religion,  makes  the  affirmation  that  "in  every  nation 
he  that  feareth  him  [i.e.,  God]  and  worketh  righteous- 
ness is  accepted  with  him";  and  the  Apostle  Paul,  in 
Acts  17;  23,  speaking  to  the  Greeks,  who  apparently 
had  never  before  heard  of  Christianity,  tells  them  that 
him  (i.e.,  the  God)  "whom  ye  ignorantly" — not  refuse 
to  worship,  but — "worship,  him  declare  I  unto  you." 
Limitations  with  reference  to  knowledge  concerning 
religion,  and  mistakes  with  reference  to  religious  con- 
duct, these  early  founders  of  Christianity  recognized 
in  the  so-called  heathen  religions,  but  they  did  not 
deny  to  any  one  of  them  in  any  place  a  certain  degree 
of  revelation  and  illumination.  "When  the  Gentiles 
which  have  not  the  law,"  says  Paul,  Rom.  2;  14,  15, 


LIBERALISM  OF  EARLY  CHRISTIANITY    289 

"do  by  nature  the  things  contained  in  the  law,  these, 
having  not  the  law,  are  a  law  unto  themselves,  which 
show  the  work  of  the  law  written  in  their  hearts,  their 
conscience  also  bearing  witness,  and  their  thoughts  the 
meanwhile  accusing  or  else  excusing  one  another." 
These  quotations  seem  to  show  that  the  founders  of 
Christianity  had  a  theory  different  from  those  who, 
a  century  or  two  later,  were  terming  all  non-Christian 
conceptions  false  or  devilish.  It  is  important  to  em- 
phasize, too,  the  fact  that  had  they,  or  other  early 
Christian  missionaries,  used  such  terms,  or  held  a  theory 
that  necessitated  their  using  them,  they  would  have 
had  harder  work  than  they  did  have  in  converting  the 
intelligent  and  loyal  people  of  the  world — those  loyal 
to  the  traditions  of  their  own  families  and  races — to 
Christianity.  The  same  principle  may  be  applied  to 
those  who  to-day  are  missionaries  in  foreign  lands. 
Most  Christians  know  what  is  meant  by  saying  that  the 
Christ  becomes  the  Savior  of  a  man,  not  by  doing  more 
for  him  than  has  already  been  done,  but  by  being  more 
for  him,  by  being  recognized  as  such.  In  the  same  way, 
he  must  become  the  Savior  of  mankind  not  by  doing 
more  than  he  has  done  for  it,  but  by  being  more,  and 
by  being  recognized  as  such.  If  the  passage  in  Haggai 
2;  7,  "the  desire  of  all  nations  shall  come/7  refer  to  the 
Christ,  as  Christians  are  given  to  saying,  the  effort  of 
the  Christian  should  be  to  reveal  to  the  non-Christian 
in  what  sense  the  historic  Christ  is  fitted  to  satisfy  the 
religious  desires  and  conceptions  of  all  men. 


290       THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

In  order  to  reveal  this,  it  is  important  to  find  out, 
first,  so  far  as  possible,  exactly  what  are  the  most  com- 
mon, because  the  most  universal,  religious  desires  and 
conceptions.  Fortunately,  it  is  not  difficult  in  our  day 
to  determine  this.  The  religious,  as  well  as  other  de- 
velopments of  almost  all  people,  have  been  quite  thor- 
oughly studied ;  and  there  are  existing  in  our  own  time, 
in  Africa,  Asia,  Australia,  and  America,  races  of  the 
most  primitive  character,  which,  therefore,  may  be 
supposed  to  have  the  most  primitive  form  of  religion. 

When  we  ask  what  this  primitive  form  is,  it  seems,  in 
all  cases,  to  be  very  nearly  the  same.  It  is  some  form 
of  spirit-worship;  and  the  spirits  that  are  worshiped 
are,  as  a  rule,  believed  to  be  those  that  have  lived  on 
the  earth  and  departed,  and  that  survive  in  a  more 
ethereal  state.  The  belief  in  the  survival  of  the  spirit 
is  indicated  not  merely  by  the  fact  that  consultations 
are  held  with  those  who,  in  some  mysterious  way,  are 
supposed  to  communicate  with  the  dead,  but  by  the 
well-nigh  universal  custom  of  burying  with  the  dead 
certain  of  their  belongings,  which  it  is  supposed  that— 
so  far  as  these  can  be  turned  into  that  which  is  spiritual 
—they  may  need  and  use  in  the  ethereal  life.  In 
Christian  communities,  as  intimated  on  page  75,  this 
well-nigh  universal  belief  in  the  survival  of  the  spirit  is 
often  attributed  to  imagination.  If  by  imagination, 
as  thus  used,  be  meant  an  experience  seemingly  seen 
or  heard  objectively,  which,  nevertheless,  is  really  seen 
or  heard  only  subjectively,  the  theory  is  plausible,  and 


UNIVERSAL  RELIGIOUS  CONCEPTIONS    291 

psychologists  are  warranted  in  discussing  it.  But  if, 
by  imagination,  in  this  case,  be  meant  the  faculty  of 
the  mind  which  causes  a  child  or  a  man  to  build  up 
images,  as  in  reverie  or  poetry,  or,  as  we  ordinarily  say, 
to  fancy  things,  then  we  must  reject  the  explanation 
as  illogical.  One  consideration  that  renders  it  so  was 
indicated  on  page  76.  Another  is  the  fact  that  an 
exactly  identical  conception  of  the  life  hereafter  has 
been  imprest  in  this  way  upon  the  minds  of  all  men 
whatsoever,  whether  uncivilized  or  highly  civilized, 
whether  aboriginal  Africans,  Asians,  Australians,  Amer- 
icans, or  ancient  Egyptians,  Greeks,  Romans,  or  mod- 
ern East  Indians,  Chinese,  Japanese,  or  spiritists  of 
Europe  or  America.  It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  this 
uniformity  of  conception  with  reference  to  condi- 
tions in  the  other  world  is  due  to  the  exercise  of  what 
we  ordinarily  mean  by  imagination.  If  that  were  the 
case,  each  man  who  used  his  imagination,  in  order  to 
originate  a  conception,  would  give  us  a  different  one. 
That  this  is  so  will  appear  upon  examination  of  the 
avowed  poetic  and  therefore  confessedly  imaginative 
statements  in  some  of  the  Egyptian,  Greek,  and  Roman 
writings,  as  well  as  of  those  of  some  of  the  early  Chris- 
tians, or  of  Dante,  Milton,  and  Klopstock.  The  descrip- 
tions of  all  of  these  differ  very  greatly.  But  when  we 
turn  to  primitive  sources  and  find  evidences  that  the  re- 
ports received  were,  professedly,  under  hypnotic,  trance, 
or  clairvoyant  conditions,  then  we  usually  find  sub- 
stantial agreement.  This  is  not  a  mere  unwarranted 


292        THE  PSYCHOLOG  Y  OF  INSPIRA TION 

statement  that  can  not  be  proved.  Any  man  wishing 
to  prove  it  can  do  so  by  exercising  no  more  patience, 
perseverance,  caution,  or  judgment  than  would  be 
necessary  in  searching  for  any  other  fact.  All  that  is 
necessary  is  to  make  a  study  of  reports  of  this  kind 
communicated  to  oneself  or  collected  from  the  testi- 
mony of  others,  and,  whether  originally  given  in  Eng- 
lish, French,  German,  East  Indian,  Chinese,  or  Japanese, 
these  reports  will  be  found  in  all  essentials  to  coincide. 
Nor  does  it  make  any  difference  whether  the  descrip- 
tions of  heaven  and  hell  be  given  by  a  man  who  has 
been  a  lifelong  student  of  science  like  Swedenborg, 
or  by  a  half-idiot  like  a  negro  in  an  African  forest. 
Through  all,  the  outlines  of  the  same  heaven  and  hell 
can  be  distinctly  recognized.  This  is  no  result  that  can 
be  attributed  to  individual  imagination.  It  must  be 
attributed  to  a  law  universally  fulfilled  wherever  there 
seems  to  be  the  slightest  reason  for  supposing  that  we 
are  getting  the  records  of  what  is  perceived  by  the  sub- 
conscious or  spiritual  nature.  The  conditions,  in  this 
case,  are  such  as  to  leave  us  only  one  of  two  possible 
conclusions.  We  must  believe  either  that  the  truth 
is  indicated  in  them,  or  else  believe  that  the  human 
mind  has  been  so  constructed  as  to  produce  for  us  a 
universal  and  stupendous  lie. 

Besides  the  recognition,  in  primitive  religion,  of  the 
continued  existence  of  the  spirits  of  those  who  have 
left  the  earth,  there  is  always  a  recognition  of  a  differ- 
ence in  character  between  these  spirits.  Some  are 


GOOD  AND  EVIL  SPIRITS  293 

thought  to  be  evil,  or,  as  spiritists  prefer  to  put  it,  un- 
developed; and  some  to  be  good,  or  highly  developed. 
It  is  usually  asserted,  too,  that  the  most  highly  devel- 
oped seldom,  if  ever,  communicate  with  men.  The  au- 
thor is  acquainted  with  one  often  consulting  such  sources 
who  has  assured  him  that  the  most  convincing  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  their  trustworthiness  is  furnished  him 
by  the  fact  that  his  own  father — a  man  of  exceptional 
purity  and  reserve — has  never  been  represented  as 
being  the  source  of  such  communications.  This  con- 
clusion, perhaps,  would  be  considered  by  most  spiritists 
unwarranted.  They  usually  are  ready  to  admit  that 
large  parts  of  the  so-called  communications  to  individ- 
uals are  frivolous  and  indicative  of  frivolous  sources. 
But  the  claim  is  made  that  there  are  also  indications  of 
sources  of  an  exceedingly  elevating  and  inspiring  char- 
acter. The  most  common  theory  seems  to  be  that 
spirits  are  not  necessarily  worse  or  better  than  can  be 
found  among  those  that  are  seen  and  heard  in  this  world, 
and  that  whatever  may  come  from  them  is  addrest  to 
the  mind  and  is  to  be  judged  by  the  appeal  that  it  makes 
to  reason. 

The  recognition  of  a  difference  in  character  between 
spirits  leads,  very  naturally,  as  will  be  perceived,  to 
two  forms  of  what  may  be  termed  homage,  namely, 
that  paid  to  evil  spirits,  and  to  good  spirits.  The  evil 
are  represented  as  needing  to  be  appeased,  lest  they 
should  do  harm,  and  the  good  as  deserving  of  solicita- 
tion because  capable  of  conferring  benefit.  Both  forms 


294        THE  PS YCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

of  homage  are  found  not  only  among  uncivilized,  but 
among  civilized  races.  We  have  all  heard  of  the 
hideous  rites  of  North  American  Indians,  but,  even  in 
countries  like  China  and  Japan,  hideous  images  can  be 
seen  representing  evil  spirits  before  whom  one  can 
readily  fancy  that  hideous  rites  alone  would  be  in 
place.  Only  comparatively  ignorant  people  are  much 
influenced  by  fear  of  these  evil  spirits;  but  in  both 
China  and  Japan  many  are  seen  apparently  making 
them  offerings.  The  homage  given  to  good  spirits 
usually  assumes  two  forms,  which,  however,  are  closely 
connected.  These  two  are  the  worship  of  heroes  and 
of  ancestors.  In  reading  the  Greek  and  Roman  classics, 
we  think  mainly  of  hero-worship;  but  if  we  study  their 
customs,  we  find  that,  in  some  cases,  their  penates,  or 
household  gods,  were  their  own  ancestors.  In  other 
cases  the  heroes  whom  they  worshiped  were  men  of 
ancient  times  and,  being  so,  were  also  men  from  whom 
most  of  the  people  imagined  that  they  themselves 
were  descended.  So  with  the  ancestral  worship  of 
China  and  Japan.  There  is  more  hero-worship  con- 
nected with  it  than  we  ordinarily  suppose.  The  author 
himself  has  seen  in  Japan  the  caskets  containing  the 
remains  of  Shoguns,  famous  warriors,  who  died  some- 
thing like  three  hundred  years  ago,  carried  in  pro- 
cession and  set  opposite  a  long  table  at  which,  in  sup- 
posed communion  with  them,  the  prominent  characters 
of  a  province  partook  of  a  feast  and  enjoyed  a  per- 
formance of  dancing  and  music.  So  the  worship  of 


RELIGIOUS  LEADERS  295 

ancestors  in  Japan  is  connected  with  some  worship 
also  of  heroes,  this  word  worship,  however,  being,  as  a 
Buddhist  priest  assured  the  author,  altogether  too  sa- 
cred a  term  to  apply  to  a  mere  expression  of  a  belief 
on  the  part  of  the  people  of  a  possibility  of  obtaining 
aid  from  ancestors  pleased  with  all  endeavors  to  carry 
out  the  traditions  of  their  families. 

These  endeavors  seem  to  lead  necessarily,  after  a 
time,  to  more  or  less  reasoning  with  reference  to  the 
real  or  supposed  desires  or  designs  of  these  ancestors. 
It  is  natural,  therefore,  that  what  is  believed  concern- 
ing them,  or  concerning  the  life  most  in  accord  with 
their  supposed  characters,  should  come,  by  certain 
more  thoughtful  and  rational  men,  to  be  formulated  in 
writing,  just  as  in  time  such  men  come  to  formulate  in 
writing  all  matters  of  common  opinion.  It  is  at  this 
stage  that  many  of  the  more  intelligent  people  cease 
to  be  guided  by  seers  or  mediums,  whose  powers  are 
apparently  attributable  as  much  to  physical  or  nervous 
as  to  psychical  or  spiritual  traits,  and  to  be  guided  by 
the  great  thinkers.  Of  those  of  these  thinkers  who 
have  had  the  most  influence  in  their  own  and  subse- 
quent times,  Confucius,  while  not  denying,  ignored  the 
spiritual,  believing  that  what  humanity  needed  was  a 
system  of  morality  fitted  to  produce  the  best  results 
in  this  material  life,  and  that,  if  this  system  were  formu- 
lated and  practised  here,  it  would,  of  itself,  afford  the 
best  possible  preparation  for  a  spiritual  life.  Buddha, 
on  the  other  hand,  ignored  the  material  world,  confi- 


296        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

ning  himself  to  teaching  methods  of  ridding  the  spirit 
from  the  influence  of  the  body,  and  from  interest  in 
mere  bodily  pursuits.  Zoroaster  tried  to  balance  the 
spiritual,  or  the  good,  against  the  bodily,  or  the  evil, 
and  seemed  to  think  that,  altho  the  former  would  ulti- 
mately triumph,  the  influence  of  each  in  this  world  is 
very  nearly  equal.  Moses  and  Mohammed  both  di- 
rected attention  to  the  spiritual,  but  to  this,  mainly, 
perhaps,  as  embodied  in  the  material.  The  Christ 
directed  attention  to  both,  altho  he  separated  them, 
admitting,  however,  their  inseparability  in  this  world; 
but,  while  doing  so,  he  insisted  that  the  spiritual  should 
be  considered  supreme,  and  that  to  its  direction  and  con- 
trol the  material,  in  all  cases,  should  be  subordinated. 

It  is  unfortunate,  in  some  regards,  that  Christianity 
was  trained  in  its  youth  to  the  methods  of  the  Roman 
Empire.  In  this  latter,  all  will  recall  the  emphasis 
given  to  written  laws  and  government  by  force.  Any 
system,  perhaps,  after  existing  for  centuries  sur- 
rounded almost  exclusively  by  such  methods  would 
have  been  influenced  to  express  its  doctrines  in  written 
creeds  and  to  manifest  its  discipline  through  ordained 
authority.  Nor  is  it  strange  that  the  time  came  when 
any  one  who  was  outside  the  body  acknowledging 
these  doctrines,  or  controlled  by  this  authority,  should 
have  been  deemed  outside  the  pale  of  that  which  was 
considered  to  be  the  kingdom  of  God.  Nor  is  it 
strange  that  many,  even  in  our  own  times,  should 
hold  the  theory  that  Christianity,  like  the  Roman 


COMMUNICATION  WITH  SPIRITS          297 

Empire  with  which  it  first  marched  to  its  victories,  is 
necessarily  in  its  very  character  antagonistic  to  other 
religions,  and  before  it  can  obtain  recognition  for  it- 
self must  obtain  from  its  converts  a  repudiation  of 
them.  Some  of  our  zealous  missionaries — but,  for- 
tunately, not  all  of  them  (see  page  73) — feel  it  to  be 
their  first  duty  to  oppose  such  a  belief  as  that  in 
spirits,  whether  bad  or  good,  or  in  paying  homage  to 
ancestors,  or  to  the  precepts  of  a  Confucius,  or  the 
doctrines  of  a  Buddha.  But  why?  Those  who  lived 
in  Biblical  times  certainly  believed  in  spirits  both  bad 
and  good,  and  that  a  man  could  communicate  with 
them.  Innumerable  instances  to  prove  this  can  be 
cited.  Not  only  were  evil  spirits  supposed  to  take 
possession  of  mind  and  body,  and  to  need  to  be  cast 
out,  as  related  in  Mark  5;  1-14;  but  good  spirits 
were  supposed  to  control  and  to  make  their  sub- 
jects mediums  of  the  truth  (Gen.  41;  38:  Num.  24;  2: 
1  Sam.  19;  20:  II.  Chronicles  15;  1:  Matt.  3;  16,  etc.). 
We  are  told  that  two  angels  came  to  visit  Lot  (Gen. 
19;  1);  that  one  wrestled  with  Jacob  (Gen.  32;  24, 
30);  that  one  talked  with  Daniel  (Dan.  9;  21),  and 
that  two  appeared  to  three  of  the  disciples  (Matt.  17; 
3).  All  the  conditions  of  a  modern  seance  are  present 
in  the  story  of  the  summoning  of  Saul  by  the  Witch  of 
Endor  (1  Sam.  28;  7-25);  and  certain  spiritists  insist 
that  similar  conditions  were  realized  in  connection 
with  the  appearance  of  the  crucified  Christ  to  his 
disciples  as  related  in  John  20;  19-29. 


298        THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

Besides  this,  those  who  lived  in  Biblical  times  seem 
to  have  believed  in  something  resembling  homage 
rendered  to  ancestors.  What  was  their  Jehovah,  if 
not  the  God  of  Abraham  and  Isaac  (Gen.  32;  9:  Rom. 
4;  2,  9,  12,  16)?  Now  if,  in  the  early  days  of  the 
Church,  the  accepting  of  these  beliefs  did  not  prevent 
one  from  accepting  Christianity  also,  why  should  it  do 
so  in  our  own  days?  And  how  is  it  with  accepting 
the  teachings  of  the  great  religious  leaders?  A  few 
years  ago  the  author  attended  a  recitation  in  ethics  in 
the  Doshisha,  the  college  founded  by  the  American 
Congregational  missionaries  in  Kobe,  Japan.  The 
text-book  from  which  the  students  were  reciting  was 
by  Confucius.  Evidently  the  missionaries  had  found 
that  there  was  no  greater  antagonism  between  his 
system  and  Christianity  than  the  Apostle  Paul  had 
found  between  Christianity  and  Platonism  (Acts  17; 
23).  If  the  reader  will  turn  back  to  page  203,  he  will 
find  indicated  in  what  sense  it  may  be  true  that  there 
is  much  less  antagonism  than  is  sometimes  supposed 
between  the  same  system  and  Buddhism  or  Mohamme- 
danism. Nor  is  there  any  reason  for  holding  that 
even  reincarnation,  as  taught  by  the  one,  or  a  mate- 
rial heaven,  as  pictured  by  the  other — tho  neither 
doctrine,  of  course,  in  its  details — is  necessarily  in- 
consistent with  the  system  of  the  Gospel  (Mark  9;  11- 
13:  Rev.  21;  1,2). 

There  is  no  doubt,  too,  that  by  acknowledging  the 
possibility  that  truth  may  be  contained  in  certain  of 


NON-CHRISTIAN  BELIEFS  IMPORTANT      299 

these  systems  Christianity  itself  might  be  greatly 
benefited.  If  Christians  considered  possible  the  con- 
tinued life  and  activity  of  spirits,  the  materialism  of 
Western  civilization  might  be  perceptibly  diminished; 
if  they  considered  possible  such  a  condition  as  obses- 
sion by  evil  spirits,  a  surrender  to  the  promptings  of 
what  seem  mainly,  but  may  not  be  solely,  men's  own 
passions  and  appetites  might  be  considered  more  dan- 
gerous than  at  present.  If,  with  Confucius,  they  im- 
agined that  the  principles  of  conduct  should  be  the 
same  as  applied  either  to  material  or  to  spiritual  life, 
they  might  realize  the  importance  in  the  present  of 
exercising  more  unselfishness  and  self-control.  If, 
with  the  Buddha,  they  imagined  the  conditions  of  life 
hereafter  to  be  a  necessary  and  normal  result  of  the 
life  lived  here,  they  might  be  more  anxious  than  they 
are  now  to  live  uprightly  and  benevolently  in  this 
world.  If,  with  Zoroaster,  they  gave  due  weight  to 
the  well-nigh  equal  power  of  evil  and  of  good,  they 
might  be  more  careful  to  avoid  coming  under  the 
power  of  the  former.  If,  with  Moses  and  Mohammed, 
they  gave  due  weight  to  the  inexorable  fulfilment  of 
law,  they  might  be  more  careful  to  study  and  under- 
stand the  laws  of  their  own  physical  as  well  as  moral 
being. 

All  this  is  not  the  same  as  to  say  that  any  of  these 
systems  are  true  in  all  of  their  ramifications.  What 
system  is?  Certainly  not  Christianity  as  it  has  been 
developed.  But  for  these  defects  in  it  we  do  not, 


300        THE  PS YCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

most  of  us,  think  it  necessary  to  reject  it  wholly. 
What  intelligent  Christians  do  is  to  allow  themselves 
to  differ  with  reference  to  many  things,  which  may  be 
considered  non-essential,  if  only  they  can  agree  with 
reference  to  a  few  things  which  may  be  considered  es- 
sential. It  has  come  to  be  recognized  that  the  ques- 
tion of  being  a  Christian  or  not  is  determined  not  by 
the  whole  contents  or  results  of  one's  thought,  feeling 
or  action,  but  by  the  emphasis  given  to  certain  of 
these.  Why  should  not  a  similar  test  be  applied  to 
the  adherents  not  only  of  the  Christian,  but  of  every 
religion? 

The  objection  most  frequently  urged  against  this 
view  is  that  it  throws  discredit  upon  Christian  mis- 
sionary effort,  because  it  virtually  renders  it  unneces- 
sary. But  why?  If  we  believe  in  any  kind  of  social 
or  educational  reform,  it  is  our  duty  to  proclaim  our 
opinion,  and  to  advance  the  application  of  our  meth- 
ods. Why  should  we  not  recognize  that  similar  action 
is  more  imperative  as  applied  to  the  much  more  im- 
portant matter  of  religion?  The  only  logical  infer- 
ences to  be  drawn  from  the  line  of  thought  just  pre- 
sented are  that,  in  advocating  his  own  religion,  one 
should  try,  first,  to  exercise  charity  toward  others 
and  not  argue  against  any  tenet  of  their  religion  that 
does  not  clearly  conflict  with  some  tenet  that  is  es- 
sential to  his  own;  and,  second,  to  present  to  them 
from  his  religion  that  only  which  it  is  clear  that  other 
religions  do  not  contain.  Now  what  may  Christianity 


PECULIARITY  OF  CHRISTIANITY          301 

be  said  to  contain  which  other  religions  do  not?  We 
can  not  answer  this  question  by  saying  that  it  is  a 
church  with  a  Bible,  or  with  a  set  of  dogmas  or  creeds., 
or  with  officials,  rites,  or  rituals.  Other  systems  have 
all  these,  or  what  corresponds  to  them.  What  Chris- 
tianity has  that  other  systems  have  not  is  this — a 
new  truth,  but  new  mainly  because  revealed  according 
to  a  new  method;  that  is,  primarily,  through  the  Christ, 
and,  secondarily,  through  Christians  who  believe  that, 
in  some  mysterious  way,  because  of  the  influence  upon 
them  of  his  life  and  death,  they  are  inspired  and  guided 
so  that,  while  living  in  the  world,  and  entering  into 
all  its  legitimate  pursuits  and  pleasures,  they  never- 
theless can  make  their  earthly  life  a  representation  to 
others  and  a  foretaste  for  themselves  of  a  spiritual  life 
hereafter.  In  order  to  perceive  that  this  is  that 
which  is  peculiar  to  Christianity,  it  is  not  necessary 
to  believe  the  exact  accuracy  of  every  account  in  the 
Scriptures;  it  may  be  said  that  it  is  not  even  neces- 
sary to  accept  as  wise  everything  that  is  represented 
as  having  been  done  or  said  by  the  Christ.  All  that 
is  necessary  is  to  recognize  the  fact  that  his  whole 
mission,  as  in  his  words,  whether  blessing  little  chil- 
dren or  cursing  money-changers;  or  as  in  his  deeds, 
whether  dining  with  publicans  and  sinners  or  praying 
with  his  disciples,  whether  receiving  the  plaudits  of  the 
multitudes  because  the  son  of  David  or  allowing  him- 
self to  be  sacrificed  on  the  cross,  had  this  end  in  view 
—to  manifest  the  life  of  love,  and  through  doing  this, 


302        THE  PS YCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

to  draw  all  men  into  likeness  with  himself.  His  fol- 
lowers are  Christians  in  the  degree,  and  in  the  degree 
alone,  in  which  they  live,  not  exactly  in  the  same 
particular  way,  but  according  to  the  same  general 
method,  always  ready  to  sacrifice  their  own  plans  and 
profits,  and,  if  absolutely  necessary,  their  lives  for  the 
benefit  of  their  fellows. 

Does  any  one  suppose  that  there  are  any  large  num- 
ber of  Confucianists,  Buddhists,  Parsees,  Hebrews, 
Mohammedans,  or  Spiritists  who  would  reject  Chris- 
tianity if  they  could  be  brought  to  believe  this  to  be 
the  essential  part  of  it?  And,  if  influenced  not  to  re- 
ject it,  would  it  be  long  before  very  many  would  be 
brought  to  acknowledge  in  the  Christ  as  well  as  within 
themselves  the  power  of  that  vague  something  which 
is  termed  the  spiritual?  In  fact,  would  it  be  long  be- 
fore they  would  have  developed  out  of  their  own 
thinking,  but  in  a  spontaneous  way  and  in  a  personal 
form,  some  of  the  very  dogmas  of  the  most  orthodox 
Christianity  which  now  they  reject  because  finding 
them  presented  by  way  of  dictation  and  authority 
instead  of  suggestion? 

This  question  causes  one  to  feel  that  the  time  has 
come  for  the  world  to  recognize  a  fact  which,  at  first, 
seems  paradoxical.  It  is  this,  that,  as  applied  to  all 
different  religions,  nothing  except  the  broadest  charity, 
which  not  only  allows  but  welcomes  divergences,  can 
ever  lead  to  the  acceptance  by  all  men  of  a  single  re- 
ligion. As  was  said  on  page  227,  no  two  individuals 


CHARITY  AND  RELIGION  303 

can  have  unity  of  spirit  except  in  the  degree  in  which, 
in  the  presence  of  the  other,  each  is  free,  and  feels  free, 
to  say  and  to  do  what  he  chooses.  This  is  so  with 
reference  to  all  men  associating  in  ordinary  inter- 
course. Why  should  it  not  be  so  with  reference  to 
those  associating  in  religion.  Once,  when  the  author 
was  young,  and  more  uncharitably  disposed  than  at 
present,  he  traveled  for  a  time  in  Europe  with  a  strenu- 
ous Unitarian.  This  man  and  himself  seemed  in  com- 
plete religious  accord — i.e.,  unity  of  spirit — except 
when  tempted  into  a  controversy.  Then  they  seemed 
as  wide  apart  as  the  poles.  After  a  time  both  tried  to 
analyze  the  reason  for  this,  and  concluded  that,  in 
such  cases,  the  selfish  desire  to  justify  the  contro- 
versy caused  each  to  weigh  down  his  side  of  the  argu- 
ment with  more  and  more  of  his  own  self-drawn  de- 
ductions, thus  making  his  statements  more  and  more 
individual  and  peculiar,  till  the  thoughts  exprest  were 
selected  for  use  for  the  very  reason  that  they  were 
widely  separated.  No  one  ever  brought  about  spir- 
itual unity  by  controversy,  but  through  sympathy, 
and  the  first  condition  of  sympathy  is  to  discover 
unity  beneath  individual  difference. 

Enough  was  said  on  page  129  to  indicate  in  what 
sense  one  may  hold  that  there  are  truths  common  to 
all  religions.  These  truths,  when  one's  main  object 
is  to  bring  about  religious  unity,  need  to  be  acknowl- 
edged. In  some  countries  they  are  already  acknowl- 
edged. This  may  be  said  to  be  the  case  to  an  unusual 


304        THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

degree  in  Japan — that  country  from  which,  to-day,  all 
of  the  rest  of  the  world  seem  to  be  deriving  so  many 
useful  lessons.  These  lessons  are  derived  not  merely 
because  of  Japan's  recent  military  successes,  but  be- 
cause of  the  characteristics  of  spirit  and  mind  which 
rendered  these  successes  possible.  More  than  any 
other  nation  of  which  history  gives  an  account,  Japan 
— to  judge  at  least  from  its  course  during  the  last  fifty 
years — seems  to  be  governed  by  principles  of  ration- 
ality. Within  that  time  many  in  the  higher  classes, 
who  formerly  were  the  only  ones  allowed  to  bear  arms, 
influenced  by  a  desire  to  secure  the  good  of  the  coun- 
try, have,  of  their  own  initiative,  resigned  their  posi- 
tions of  influence,  and  most  of  their  exclusive  rights 
and  privileges,  thus  virtually  abolishing  caste.  Besides 
this,  the  whole  nation  has  voluntarily  laid  aside  the 
governmental,  educational,  and,  to  some  extent,  the 
social  traditions  of  centuries  in  order  to  adopt  what 
the  experiences  of  other  nations  have  proved  to  be 
best  for  a  people.  If  the  Japanese  rationality  be  the 
result  of  a  Confucian  or  a  Buddhist  religion,  for  the 
sake  of  humanity  let  us  all  become  Confucianists  or 
Buddhists!  But  this  is  not  necessary.  What  we  need, 
in  order  to  equal  them  in  mental  breadth,  is  not  the 
same  beliefs  that  they  have,  but  the  same  attitude  of 
mind  toward  all  beliefs.  In  that  country,  Confucianists, 
Buddhists,  and  Christians  can  meet  together  and  ex- 
change views,  and,  when  they  part,  can  feel  that  they 
have  been  communing  with  a  spirit  that  has  united 


JAPANESE  RATIONALITY  305 

them.  What  spirit?  Are  we  not  justified  in  believing 
it  to  be  the  spirit  of  that  Creative  Life  which  prompts 
each,  and  which  therefore,  if  accepted  as  a  guide,  would 
allow  each  to  give  truthful  expression  to  that  which  is 
revealed  within  his  own  nature.  If  all  men  be  the  off- 
spring of  the  same  divine  source,  and  if  justice  and 
impartiality  characterize  this  source,  there  must  be 
some  truth  lodged  with  each  individual,  and  some  mode 
of  life  manifested  by  him  that  is  worthy  of  the  notice 
and  regard  of  all  others.  If  this  be  true  in  any  sphere, 
it  must  be  true  also  in  that  of  religion. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

CERTAIN  OTHER  PROBLEMS  MADE  SOLVABLE  BY  THE 
THEORY  PRESENTED  IN  THIS  BOOK 

Reconciliation  Between  the  Claims  of  Inspiration  and  Apparent  Inac- 
curacy and  Contradiction  in  the  Text  Giving  It  Expression  — 
Between  the  Claims  of  Absolute,  Eternal,  and  Infinite  Truth 
and  the  Apparent  Impossibility  of  Stating  or  Determining  This ; 
Pragmatism  —  In  What  Sense,  Value,  or  Worth,  Emphasized  in 
Pragmatism,  Is  a  Test  of  Truth — Difference  Between  Knowledge 
Which  Is  Applied  to  a  Part  and  Faith  Which  Is  Applied  to  a 
Whole — Illustration — Difference  Between  This  View  and  That  of 
Pragmatism— Reconciliation  Between  the  Full  Acceptance  of  Re- 
vealed Truth  and  the  Full  Exercise  of  Reason — Between  Liberal- 
ity of  Thought  and  Honest  Acceptance  of  the  Christian  System, 
Applied  to  Those  Not  Members  of  the  Church  — To  Scientists— 
Applied  to  Members  of  the  Church — Reconciliation  Between  Com- 
plete Adherence  to  One's  Own  Religious  Views  and  Complete 
Toleration  of  the  Views  of  Others— Between  Others'  Acceptance  of 
the  Truth  in  One's  Own  System  and  Conservation  of  the  Truth  in 
Theirs— Between  Rationality  or  Intelligence  and  Spirituality  or 
Faith— The  Material  and  the  Spiritual— Spirituality— If  Inspired 
Truth  Be  Suggestive,  Spirituality  and  Faith  Can  Follow  It  with 
No  Lessening  of  the  Exercise  of  Intelligence  and  Reason— Con. 
elusion. 

It  seems  fitting  in  this  closing  chapter  to  indicate- 
partly  by  way  of  recapitulation  and  partly  by  way  of 
supplement — some  of  the  problems  which  suggested 
the  preparation  of  this  volume,  and  which  the  author 
hopes  that  it  may  prove  instrumental  in  solving.  The 
first  of  these  problems  is,  of  course,  the  initial  one  in- 
dicated in  the  Introduction,  namely,  how  to  reconcile 
the  claims  of  an  inspired  religious  writing  with  the 

306 


INSPIRA  TION  AND  IN  A  CCURA  CY          307 

existence  of  apparent  inaccuracy  and  even  contradic- 
tion in  certain  details  of  its  statements.  What  better 
answer  to  this  question  could  be  found  than  the  one 
given  in  this  volume?  It  has  been  shown  that,  when 
a  man  is  inspired,  the  very  conditions  necessitate  that 
whatever  is  revealed  should  affect,  first,  the  inner  or 
subconscious  realm  of  his  mind;  that  whatever  may  be 
received  in  this  inner  or  subconscious  region  influences 
both  it  and  the  outer,  or  conscious  realm,  by  way  of 
suggestion;  and  that  whatever  influences  by  way  of 
suggestion  must,  from  its  very  nature,  leave  the  outer 
or  conscious  realm  free  to  express  itself  according  to 
methods  dominated  by  its  own  inherited  or  acquired 
intelligence.  It  follows  logically  from  all  this  that  we 
have  no  reason  to  expect  to  find  evidences  of  inspira- 
tion in  the  specific  details  of  the  expression,  except  so 
far  as,  indirectly,  they  may  indicate  the  general  trend 
of  that  which  is  exprest.  Specific  details  can  never  be 
supposed  to  be  a  necessary  part  of  that  which  is  merely 
suggested.  On  the  contrary,  they  are  often  originated 
solely  by  the  particular  human  mind  which  happens  to  be 
the  agent  of  the  communication.  They  are  not  logically 
attributable  to  the  spirit  that  inspired  it.  It  seems 
important  to  add  now  that  to  make  these  statements 
is  really  to  do  no  more  than  to  formulate  a  principle  in 
accordance  with  which  the  very  persons  who  object  to 
it  are  constantly  acting.  Compare  the  statement  in 
1  Cor.  15;  22,  "For  as  in  Adam  all  die  even  so  in  Christ 
shall  all  be  made  alive/7  with  the  following  from  Matt. 


308        THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

25;  46:  "And  these  shall  go  away  into  everlasting 
punishment."  Compare  also  Rom.  10;  13,  "Whoso- 
ever shall  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved," 
with  Matt.  7;  21,  "Not  every  one  that  saith  unto  me 
Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 
It  is  impossible  that  any  mind  should  accept,  in  a 
literal  sense,  such  apparently  contradictory  statements. 
In  each  case  one  or  both  of  the  two  must  be  accepted 
as  a  partial  statement  of  a  general  truth;  and  it  is  the 
general  truth  alone  that  is  believed  to  be  inspired. 
Why  should  not  all  theologians  frankly  admit  this? 
If  they  did  so,  they  would  have  a  theory  which  would 
fully  explain  all  the  facts.  Moreover,  because  the  con- 
ditions of  the  workings  of  subconscious  mentality  have 
been,  as  in  hypnotism,  scientifically  determined,  the 
explanation  would  be  scientific,  and,  better  than  all, 
it  would  be  of  such  a  nature  as  to  render  it  possible  for 
a  rational  thinker  to  believe  both  that  the  source  of  the 
inspired  suggestion  may  itself  be  absolutely  infallible, 
and  also  that  the  expression  of  it,  owing  to  the  many 
limitations  of  the  human  medium  through  which  it 
must  be  received,  may  be  ambiguous  and  apparently 
inaccurate  and  contradictory.  The  exact  fact  seems  to 
be  that  the  spiritual,  which  is  infinite  in  its  nature^ 
necessarily  becomes  finite  when  limited,  or — what  is 
the  same  thing — made  definite  by  being  exprest— 
and,  too  often,  supprest — in  terms  applicable  to  only 
material  conditions  (see  page  142).  Therefore  spir- 
itual truth  can  be  apprehended  in  the  degree  alone  in 


PRAGMATISM  309 

which  it  is  recognized  to  be — not  dictatorial  in  form, 
but — suggestive . 

What  has  just  been  said  will  indicate  the  solution 
by  our  theory  of  another  problem  which  is,  perhaps, 
the  most  important  now  agitating  theological  circles. 
It  is  this — how  to  reconcile  the  claims  upon  us  of 
what  one  must  suppose  to  be  fundamental  truth  with 
the  apparent  impossibility  of  stating,  or  even  of  de- 
termining, this  so  as  to  satisfy,  for  any  length  of  time, 
the  demands  of  reason  and  experience.  The  endeavor 
to  solve  this  problem  has,  of  late,  given  rise  to  what  is 
termed  pragmatism.  This  term  is  widely  applied  to 
many  methods,  only  a  few  of  which  can  be  adequately 
considered  now.  For  instance,  it  has  been  used  as 
synonymous  with  that  " practicality"  upon  which 
very  many  philosophers  of  the  past  have  insisted — i.e., 
with  the  application  of  common  sense  to  philosophical 
discussion,  and  the  acceptance  of  a  theory  that,  in 
view  of  all  possible  conditions,  will  "work."  When 
the  term  is  used  with  this  meaning,  its  applications 
are  so  broad  that  few  can  oppose  the  conceptions  in- 
volved in  it  without  seeming  to  reject  what  they  them- 
selves accept.  But  there  is  a  narrower  meaning  of 
the  term.  As  thus  employed,  especially  when,  as  thus 
employed,  it  is  applied  to  theological  questions,  it  seems 
to  be  based  upon  a  kind  of  agnosticism  exercised  less 
with  reference  to  the  existence  .or  attributes  of  the 
Almighty,  than  to  truth  so  far  as,  like  the  Almighty, 
this  may  be  supposed  to  be  absolute,  eternal,  and 


310        THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

infinite.  According  to  Professor  J.  M.  Sterrett,  in  his 
" Freedom  of  Authority/7  page  311,  pragmatism 
"seems  to  be  an  extension  of  the  worth-judgments  of 
the  Ritschlians  to  the  field  of  all  knowledge.'7  De- 
veloped philosophically  by  Professors  Howsor^  James, 
and  Schiller,  respectively,  in  their  volumes  entitled 
"The  Limits  of  Evolution,  and  Other  Essays/7  "The 
Will  to  Believe,  and  Other  Essays/7  and  " Humanism, 
Philosophical  Essays77;  and,  theologically,  by  Messrs. 
Sebatier,  Harnack,  and  Loisy,  respectively,  in  their 
volumes  entitled  "Outlines  of  a  Philosophy  of  Re- 
ligion/7 "What  is  Christianity/7  and  "L7Evangile  et 
L'Eglise,"  pragmatism  assumes  that  men  do,  and, 
therefore,  must,  determine  the  truth  in  any  principle 
by  noticing  its  practical  effects  in  human  life.  We 
are  to  accept  the  dogmas  and  discipline  of  the  Church, 
for  instance,  because  they  have  been  proved  to  be 
beneficial  to  mankind.  We  are  to  accept  them,  ten- 
tatively, at  least,  for  this  reason  alone,  irrespective  of 
any  question  with  reference  to  the  absolute,  infinite,  or 
eternal  nature  of  the  truth  which  they  represent, 
which  truth  we  can  not,  or,  at  least,  we  do  not  know. 
With  reference  to  it,  we  must  remain  agnostics.  There 
is,  of  course,  much  justification  in  applying  to  any  ob- 
ject of  observation  in  this  world  the  principle,  "ye 
shall  know  them  by  their  fruits77  (Matt.  7;  16).  But, 
as  applied  where  one  is  in  search  for  truth,  can  this 
be  considered  in  any  other  light  than  as  a  "working 
principle77  to  be  used  merely  like  an  hypothesis  in 


PRAGMATISM  311 

order  to  aid  in  the  discovery  of  something  more  cer- 
tain? Used  in  this  way,  as  an  hypothesis,  there  can 
be  no  objection  to  accepting  such  a  theory  and  adopt- 
ing such  a  method  as  seems  to  secure  the  best  prac- 
tical results.  To  do  this  is  merely  to  act  rationally. 
But  for  the  pragmatist  to  go  further;  for  him  to  sug- 
gest, if  not  suppose,  that  the  hypothesis,  because  it 
works  well,  is,  in  any  sense,  for  this  reason  alone,  all 
that  one  can  or  need  know  of  absolute  truth  is  to 
make  the  same  mistake  intellectually  as  is  made  mor- 
ally by  those  who  suggest  that  because  they  are  sin- 
cere, because  they  are  obeying  the  dictates  of  con- 
science, they  are  absolutely  right.  As  most  of  us 
know,  they  are  usually  not.  On  the  contrary,  they 
are  often  manifesting  the  same  attitude  of  mind 
which  the  bigots  and  persecutors  of  all  the  ages  have 
proved  to  be  absolutely  wrong.  Why?  What,  in  such 
cases,  is  the  mistake?  Should  these  bigots  and  per- 
secutors have  been  insincere?  Should  they  have  vio- 
lated their  own  consciences?  Certainly  not.  The  first 
element  of  morality  consists  in  having  faith  in  the  dic- 
tates of  one's  own  conscience.  But,  in  connection 
with  having  this  faith,  they  should  also  have  recog- 
nized that  their  consciences  belong  not  to  others,  or  to 
the  Almighty,  but  to  themselves  alone;  and,  by  con- 
sequence, merely  impel  them  to  live  true  to  what  ap- 
pears to  be  best  to  their  own  intelligence  and  sym- 
pathy. This  recognition  would  have  led  them  not  to 
be  untrue  to  self,  but,  in  addition  to  being  true,  to 


312       THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA T10N 

strive  to  increase  their  knowledge  and  love  till,  finally, 
if  possible,  all  their  thoughts  and  emotions  should  be- 
come true  also  to  everything  wisest  and  best  by  which 
self  is  surrounded  and  can  be  influenced. 

So  with  the  theory  that  the  pragmatist  has  found  to 
be  of  " value."  If  it  have  been  proved  to  be  this,  a 
man,  as  a  rational  being,  should  value  it.  But  how? 
As  something  practically  useful,  but  not  necessarily, 
as  a  matter  of  theory,  truthful.  To  try  to  accept  it  in 
the  latter  way  involves  making  three  mistakes.  The 
first  consists  in  confounding  the  beneficial  with  the 
best.  Fifty  years  ago,  almost  everybody  held  the 
opinion  that  tuberculosis  was  not  a  contagious,  but  an 
inherited  disease.  The  opinion  was  beneficial.  It 
prevented  people  from  running  away  from  their 
friends  and  relatives  who  needed  nursing.  But  the 
opinion  was  not  true.  Tho  not  contagious  through 
ordinary  breath  or  touch,  the  disease  is  contagious 
through  the  dried  expectorations  which  may  fill  the 
air  that  one  breathes,  and  thus  come  to  touch  his 
lungs.  The  second  mistake  of  those  considering  the 
useful  to  be  the  truthful  lies  in  confounding  the  rela- 
tive with  the  absolute — that  which  seems  true  to  the 
results  of  one's  own  experience  with  that  which  is  true 
to  universal  experience.  Of  course,  the  two  are  not 
identical.  There  must  be  some  broader  test  of  truth 
than  that  which  is  determined  by  the  knowledge  or 
judgment  of  a  single  individual.  The  third  mistake, 
closely  connected  with  both  the  others,  lies  in  con- 


PR  A  GMA  TISM  313 

founding  the  methods  of  faith  with  the  methods  of 
knowledge.  All  the  essays  in  the  "Will  to  Believe/' 
by  Professor  James,  would  have  been  more  effective 
logically,  as  well  as  religiously,  if  he  had  recognized 
this  distinction;  if,  instead  of  intimating  that  partial 
information,  because  useful,  may  be  true,  he  had 
frankly  admitted  that  it  may  or  may  not  be  true,  but, 
because  useful,  should  be  utilized,  on  the  ground  that 
a  man  needing  knowledge  should  have  faith  to  act  ac- 
cording to  the  amount  of  knowledge,  tho  limited,  that 
has  been  given  him;  and  that  the  man  needing  light 
should  have  faith  to  follow  after  as  much  light,  even 
tho  limited,  as  he  has  the  good  fortune  to  see.  The 
fact  seems  to  be  that  we  mortals  are  always  living,  as 
it  were,  in  a  twilight  where  that  which  can  bring  full 
day  is  under  the  horizon.  Nevertheless,  we  can  see  a 
few  things  near  at  hand;  and  toward  them  we  can 
walk  according  to  knowledge.  But,  besides  these, 
there  are  other  things  that  loom  dimly  in  the  dis- 
tance; and  with  them  comes  often  the  promise,  far 
away,  of  a  great  light.  This  does  not  make  our  pres- 
ent pathway  clear,  but  it  suggests  the  direction  that 
we  should  take  in  order  to  reach  a  clear  pathway.  If 
we  follow  in  this  direction,  we  are  rewarded  in  two 
ways:  first,  by  getting  nearer  to  the  light;  and,  second, 
by  learning  from  experience  how  to  get  along  safely 
with  such  little  light  as  we  have.  Neither  of  these  re- 
sults, when  applied  to  a  man's  search  for  truth,  corre- 
sponds exactly  to  that  which  is  logically  inferable 


314        THE  PSYCHO L OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

from  what  is  said  by  the  adherents  of  pragmatism. 
The  man  who  is  constantly  hoping  to  attain  truth  or 
who  is  constantly  learning  to  do  without  it,  is  by  no 
means  in  the  same  attitude  of  mind  as  the  man  who 
surmises  that  he  has  truth,  or  that  no  one  can  get 
along  unless  he  has  it.  Unlike  the  latter,  the  former 
accepts  suggestions  merely  as  such;  and  then,  after  the 
manner  of  hypnotism  (see  page  269),  lets  his  subcon- 
scious intellection  add  its  own  logical  conclusions. 

The  failure  to  recognize  that  the  faith  (see  page  274) 
awakened  and  determined  by  such  conclusions  is  nor- 
mal and  necessary  in  mental  action  is  perhaps  the 
chief  defect  in  Kant's  philosophy.  Had  Professor 
James  recognized  this,  he  might  have  made  the  lesson 
that  he  desired  to  impress  seem  less  original,  but,  at  the 
same  time,  he  would  have  made  it  seem  more  accept- 
able. This  is  so  because  it  could  then  have  been  proved 
to  conform  to  the  precepts  and  the  theories  of  almost 
all  the  foremost  philosophers  of  all  the  ages.  What 
has  always  been  their  fundamental  method?  When 
brought  face  to  face  with  the  phenomena  of  matter  or 
of  mind,  what  have  they  done?  They  have  analyzed 
the  different  effects  in  each;  they  have  traced  them 
backward,  step  by  step,  to  their  primary  elements, 
and  when  these  have  been  found,  and  often  not  till 
then,  they  have  compared  the  first  appearances  with 
others  in  which  the  effects  of  the  same  elements  are 
visible.  And  why  have  they  done  this?  Is  there  any 
better  answer  than  that  of  Sir  William  Hamilton  in 


PRAGMATISM  AND  FAITH  315 

one  of  his  " Lectures  on  Metaphysics"?  "The  mind," 
he  says,  "can  not  conceive  that  anything  that  begins 
to  be  is  anything  more  than  a  new  modification  of  pre- 
existent  elements;  it  is  unable  to  view  any  individual 
thing  as  other  than  a  link  in  the  mighty  chain  of  be- 
ing; and  every  isolated  object  is  viewed  by  it  only  as 
a  fragment  which  to  be  known  must  be  known  in  con- 
nection with  the  whole  of  which  it  constitutes  a  part." 
In  other  words,  according  to  this  writer,  the  answer  to 
our  question  is  that  these  philosophers  proceed  as  they 
do  because  they  have  a  conception  of  a  whole,  of  an 
ideal  whole,  as  we  might  say,  tho  in  reality  only  a  few 
parts  are  perceptible.  But  what  is  the  nature  of  this 
ideal,  and  whence  is  it  obtained?  Its  nature  is  the 
same  as  that  of  an  ideal  in  religion  or  in  art;  and  it  is 
obtained  just  as  is  an  ideal  in  these — i.e.,  through 
faith  and  imagination.  To  show  this,  let  us  take  an 
elementary  conception,  and  trace  it  to  a  condition  in 
which  it  passes  into  what  we  term  a  general  law  or,  as 
explained  in  Chapter  I,  a  general  truth  of  science. 

If  one  have  been  so  circumstanced  that  he  has  never 
known  of  more  than  one  death,  he  may  say,  "A  man 
appeared  for  a  little  while  and  then  vanished."  This 
is  not  an  expression  of  faith  or  of  imagination;  it  is  the 
statement  of  a  fact,  and,  so  far  as  it  goes,  of  a  result 
of  investigation.  But  after  the  observation  of  many 
deaths  he  may  make  the  statement  general.  He  may 
say,  "A  man  appeareth  for  a  little  while  and  then 
vanisheth."  Here  is  a  result  of  investigation  which 


316        THE  PSYCHO L OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

has  had  added  to  it  a  result  of  faith.  The  general  state- 
ment is  made  because  the  lives  of  many  persons  have 
been  observed,  and  have  all  manifested  the  tendency 
indicated.  Again,  joining  to  his  observations  of  men 
an  observation  of  a  single  material  appearance,  one 
may  say:  "Man  is  a  vapor;  he  appeareth  for  a  little 
while  and  then  vanisheth."  Here  we  have  a  result  of 
faith  and — because  we  have  two  factors  of  a  compari- 
son both  indicated,  namely,  man  and  vapor — a  result 
also  of  imagination.  Once  more,  observing  a  similar 
tendency  not  alone  in  man  and  in  vapor,  but  in  many 
other  things,  one  may  make  his  statement  universal. 
He  may  say:  "All  life  is  a  vapor";  "The  things  that 
are  seen  are  temporal";  "This  life's  a  dream,  an 
empty  show."  But  notice  that  just  as  soon  as  he 
makes  his  statement  universal,  even  tho  his  surmisal 
be  based  upon  such  wide  observations  of  life  and  its 
methods  that  his  words  have  almost  the  accuracy  of 
scientific  conclusions,  nevertheless  he  has  gone,  still 
more  decidedly  than  in  the  cases  previously  men- 
tioned, outside  the  realm  of  investigation  or  knowl- 
edge. It  is  impossible  that  one  should  investigate  all 
the  objects,  events,  or  experiences  to  which  a  so- 
called  universal  law  can  apply.  He  can  associate  it 
with  all  of  them  so  far  only  as  he  exercises  faith,  and, 
by  imagination,  conceives  that  what  is  true  of  the  part 
is  true  of  the  whole;  or,  to  express  this  differently, 
conceives  of  the  part  as  imaging  the  whole. 
This  conception  of  the  result  is  very  different,,  and 


PRAGMATISM  AND  PROGRESS  317 

leads  to  a  very  different  effect  upon  thought  and  action, 
from  that  which  seems  to  be  induced  by  pragmatism. 
Apparently,  the  logical  influence  of  the  latter  is — as, 
indeed,  its  advocates  themselves  claim — to  make  a 
mind  more  or  less  satisfied  with  the  degree  of  truth  at- 
tained, and  therefore  with  existing  conditions  in  so- 
ciety, state,  and  church.  The  conception  advanced  in 
the  paragraph  preceding  this  can  do  no  more  than  in- 
cline the  mind  toward  an  acceptance  of  these  as  tenta- 
tive, perhaps,  but  probably  trustworthy  guides  to- 
ward something,  conceived  to  be  similar,  to  which 
they  may  lead.  This  is  an  attitude  of  mind  that  is 
characterized  at  once  by  humility  in  view  of  one's  own 
limitations,  by  faith  in  view  of  one's  own  inward  im- 
pulses, and  by  an  unquenchable  thirst  for  progress  in 
all  that  makes  for  enlightenment  and  betterment. 
Nothing  but  continued  search  for  truth  can  satisfy  a 
mind  anxious  to  attain  it,  and  yet  always  conscious 
that  it  has  not  been  attained.  It  is  needless  to  point 
out  to  what  extent  the  conception  of  inspiration  as 
being  suggestive  in  its  tendency  harmonizes  with  this 
attitude  of  mind  and  develops  it,  at  once  dealing  with 
the  problem  which  pragmatism  is  intended  to  solve, 
and  doing  it  in  such  a  way  as  not  to  lessen  but  to  in- 
crease the  stimulating  effect  of  those  intimations 
which,  for  the  season,  are  allowed  to  hold  the  place  of 
truth.  The  only  method  through  which  the  mind  can 
accept  a  suggestion  is  through  thinking  about  that 
which  is  suggested.  The  more  this  is  thought  about, 


318        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

even  if  never  discovered,  the  more  elevating  and  en- 
larging, if  it  be  absolute,  infinite,  and  eternal,  will  be 
its  influence.  If  this  be  so — and  who  can  deny  it?— 
have  we  not  realized  exactly  the  conditions  fitted  to 
give  that  discipline  and  development  which  all  the 
wisest  and  best  have  believed  to  be  the  design  of  every 
experience  in  this  earthly  life? 

This  thought  leads  us  to  recognize  that  the  theory 
here  presented  can  enable  us  to  solve  another  problem 
— one  as  old  as  the  oldest  religion,  and  yet  freshly 
presented  for  the  solution  of  every  individual  of  the 
present  the  moment  that  he  arrives  at  an  age  where 
he  begins  to  think  for  himself.  This  problem  is,  how 
to  reconcile  the  full  acceptance  of  revealed  truth  with 
the  full  exercise  of  one's  own  reason  as  directed  to  its 
conclusions  by  the  results  of  conscience,  insight,  ex- 
perience, and  logical  processes.  There  is  no  satisfactory 
answer  to  this  question  for  any  one  who,  in  all  cases, 
accepts  what  is  supposed  to  be  the  expression  of  re- 
vealed truth  as  true  in  a  literal,  explicit,  dogmatic, 
dictatorial,  infallible  sense.  Nothing  can  be  accepted 
in  this  sense  except  by  one  who,  so  far  as  concerns  the 
interpretation  of  the  particular  expression  involved, 
has  waived  the  exercise  of  his  own  reason.  Neverthe- 
less, many  have  been  persuaded  that  they  should  do 
this.  The  result  that  follows,  when  they  do  not  think 
at  all  for  themselves,  is  superstition ;  when  they  think 
in  part  for  themselves,  but  from  dictated  premises, 
bigotry;  and  when  they  think  wholly  for  themselves, 


REVELATION  AND  REASONING  319 

hypocrisy.  Through  all  three  conditions,  moreover, 
which  are  all  more  or  less  blended,  the  mind  is  being 
forced  to  do  that  which  it  can  not  do  if  acting  naturally ; 
in  other  words,  if  acting  in  accordance  with  the  laws 
of  its  Creator,  which  is  the  same  thing  as  to  say  if  acting 
religiously.  The  mind  is  not  acting  naturally,  because 
minds,  as  minds,  can  receive  nothing  except  as  they 
think  it;  and  they  can  not  think  anything  to  be  which 
to  their  own  thought  or  reason  appears  not  to  be. 
This  is  a  fact  practically  acknowledged  by  every 
Church  in  which  there  is  preaching,  the  aim  of  which 
is  always  to  prove  that  the  dogmas  and  practises  en- 
joined by  the  Church  are  in  conformity  with  those  en- 
joined by  reason.  Why  has  it  been  so  seldom  recog- 
nized that  an  effect  of  exactly  the  same  kind  should 
be  the  aim  of  all  the  ordinances  of  the  Church?  How 
could  this  be  recognized?  By  accepting,  as  applied  to 
the  original  revelation  and  to  all  ecclesiastical  develop- 
ments of  it,  this  theory  with  reference  to  the  suggestive 
character  of  truth.  The  only  way  in  which  a  mind 
can  be  influenced  by  that  which  is  clearly  felt  to  be 
suggestive  is  through  the  thought,  and  the  endeavor 
to  carry  into  logical  processes  the  thought,  which  the 
suggestion  occasions.  According  to  the  theory  of  this 
book,  therefore,  the  very  acceptance  of  revelation  as 
a  guide  to  life  involves  the  use  of  reason.  Nothing 
that  is  suggested  can  appear  to  be  essential  except  so 
far  as  it  appears  to  be  in  conformity  with  reason.  To 
some  this  statement  will  seem  radical  and  revolutionary. 


320        THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIHA TION 

But  it  merely  formulates  and  places  upon  a  philosoph- 
ical basis  the  principle  upon  which  ninety-nine  out 
of  every  hundred  intelligent  Christians  are  constantly 
acting.  Is  it  not  desirable  that  they  should  know 
what  this  principle  is,  and,  besides  knowing  it,  be  able 
to  defend  it? 

This  thought  naturally  suggests  another  problem  to 
which  the  theory  presented  in  this  book  affords  a  satis- 
factory solution.  This  is,  how  to  reconcile  liberality 
and  independence  of  view  in  Christianity  with  an  honest 
acceptance  of  its  system  as  a  whole.  This  is  an  ex- 
ceedingly practical  question.  We  all  know  men  of 
great  ability  and  integrity — Abraham  Lincoln*  and 
John  Hay  are  prominent  representatives  of  the  type— 
who,  while  regular  attendants  upon  some  Christian 
Church  and  supporters  of  it,  and  apparently  interested 
in  all  its  efforts  for  the  betterment  of  the  world,  never- 
theless are  not  what  are  called  members  of  the  Church, 
or  communicants.  No  one  can  fail  to  perceive  that 
if  they  were,  this  fact  would  make  them  much  more  in- 
fluential than  they  are  in  advancing  the  form  of  religion 
represented  by  the  Church.  Nevertheless,  when  they 

*  Lincoln's  only  published  utterance  concerning  church-membership  has 
been  recently  quoted  thus  by  General  Horatio  C.  King  in  an  article  in  The 
Christian  Work  and  Evangelist,  of  New  York:  "I  have  never  united  myself  to 
any  church,  because  I  have  found  difficulty  in  giving  my  assent,  without  mental 
reservation,  to  the  long,  complicated  statements  of  Christian  doctrine  which 
characterize  their  Articles  of  Belief  and  Confession  of  Faith.  Whenever  any 
church  will  inscribe  over  its  altar,  as  its  sole  qualification  for  membership,  the 
Savior's  condensed  statement  of  the  substance  of  both  law  and  gospel,  'Thou 
shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with 
all  thy  mind,  and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,'  that  church  I  will  join  with  all  my 
heart  and  all  my  soul," 


CHURCH-MEMBERSHIP  321 

tell  us,  as  they  do,  that  they  stand  aloof  from  it,  be- 
cause of  certain  statements  in  the  confessions  to  which 
the  Church  requires  assent  before  admitting  to  mem- 
bership, which  statements  their  minds  can  not  accept, 
we  feel  that  such  men  are  intellectually  justified  in 
remaining  aloof  from  it.  We  are  presented,  therefore, 
with  the  strange  anomaly  of  thinking  that  men  are 
doing  right  at  the  same  time  that  we  know  that  they 
are  not  exerting  as  distinctive  a  religious  influence  as 
they  might  exert.  If  a  man  be  ever  right  in  not  doing 
anything,  it  must  be  because  of  something  wrong  in 
that  which  he  is  expected  to  do.  In  this  case,  what  is 
he  expected  to  do? — To  say  that  he  accepts  certain 
statements  as  explicit,  dictatorial  expressions  of  the 
truth.  Suppose  that,  instead  of  this,  he  were  ex- 
pected to  accept  them  merely  as  suggestive  expres- 
sions. If  so,  he  would  be  expected  to  do  no  more  than 
he  is  already  doing.  It  is  because  he  believes  in  the 
general  truth  represented  by  the  Church,  tho  not  in  all 
its  special  claims,  that  he  is  already  an  attendant  upon 
its  services  and  a  contributor  to  its  practical  work. 
Might  it  not  be  wise  for  the  Church  to  weigh  carefully 
the  conditions  that  conform  to  the  requirements  of 
earnest  and  really  religious  men  of  this  character? 

The  men  just  mentioned  are  supporters  of  the 
Church  because  of  the  practical  good  that  they  per- 
ceive it  to  be  accomplishing  in  the  world.  On  account 
of  this,  they  waive  their  intellectual  objections  to  some 
of  its  doctrines.  But  there  are  other  men,  equally 


322       THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

upright  and  religious,  who  apparently  consider  it 
wrong  to  aid  in  any  way  an  institution,  however  prac- 
tically beneficial,  the  doctrines  of  which  do  not  con- 
form to  their  conceptions.  These  are  mainly  men  of 
scientific  training,  who,  in  the  search  for  truth,  demand 
above  all  things  accuracy,  and  can  not  accept  any 
statements  that  appear  to  be  in  the  least  degree  in- 
accurate. One  of  these  called  the  author's  attention, 
a  few  months  ago,  to  what  he  termed  the  "  absurd  and 
humiliating"  discussion  that  had  recently  taken  place 
in  a  convention  of  a  certain  religious  body.  "  Ap- 
parently," he  said,  "not  one  of  its  members  knew  or 
could  state  exactly  what  he  believed."  " Could  you 
yourself  do  that?"  he  was  asked.  "No,"  he  answered, 
"but  I  don't  pretend  that  I  could;  they  do."  This 
answer  explained  the  situation  exactly — the  reason 
why  he  and  the  Church  were  not  at  one,  as  well  as  the 
right  method  of  making  them  so.  In  fact,  being  a 
religious  man,  he  and  the  delegates  to  that  convention 
were  possibly  in  actual  agreement.  On  his  own  part, 
he  was  ready  to  admit,  in  unequivocal  terms,  that  he 
could  not  give  an  exact  statement  of  his  religious 
beliefs.  These  delegates,  according  to  what  they  had 
said  in  their  convention,  were  also  ready  on  their  part 
to  admit  the  same.  Why,  therefore,  did  he  imagine 
himself,  and  why  did  they  imagine  him,  at  total  vari- 
ance from  the  belief  of  the  Church?  So  far  as  he  was 
concerned,  this  was  because  he  had  false  conceptions, 
and  so  far  as  the  Church  was  concerned,  because  it  had 


THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  THE  LIBERAL        323 

conveyed  to  him  false  conceptions,  of  the  degree  of 
accuracy  with  which  that  which  is  termed  revealed 
truth  is,  or  can  be,  exprest.  Had  both  recognized  the 
suggestive  character  of  this  expression,  both  would 
have  been  in  possession  of  a  great  fundamental  prin- 
ciple that  would  have  made  it  logically  possible  for 
the  scientist  to  be  a  churchman,  and  for  the  Church 
to  have  welcomed  the  scientist.  He  would  have  recog- 
nized that  revealed  truth  is  related  to  religion  exactly 
as  what  are  termed  the  laws  of  gravitation,  or  of  evo- 
lution, are  related  to  science.  They  are  merely  sug- 
gested, but,  because  strongly  suggested,  they  are  often 
allowed  to  determine  scientific  beliefs  (see  pages  314- 
317).  But  they  can  not  be  accurately  proved.  He 
would  have  found,  therefore,  that  there  was  neither  a 
logical  nor  an  analogical  argument  justifying  him  in 
wholly  separating  himself  from  a  church  whose  prac- 
tical effects  proved  it  to  be  of  positive  benefit  to  the 
world;  and  the  Church,  on  the  other  hand,  would  have 
gained  the  influence  of  a  man  whose  conscientious  and 
scrupulous  regard  for  the  truth  would  have  greatly 
enhanced  its  influence  with  minds  of  a  similar  char- 
acter; who,  as  things  are,  are  frequently  inclined,  as 
he  was,  to  deem  the  exprest  attitude  of  representatives 
of  the  Church  " absurd  and  humiliating/7  if  not  hypo- 
critical. 

This  theory  of  suggestion  is  needed,  not  only  by  those 
who  are  outside  of  the  Church,  but,  still  more  perhaps, 
by  those  who  are  inside  of  it.  The  author  once  knew 


324        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

an  unusually  talented  and  promising  theological  stu- 
dent. At  the  end  of  his  course  he  found  himself  unable 
to  preach  either  in  the  Church  in  which  he  had  been 
educated,  or  in  any  other  Church.  He  could  not  ac- 
cept the  whole  of  any  of  the  formulated  creeds,  one 
seeming  to  assert,  and  another  to  deny,  too  much. 
His  theological  professors  argued  with  him;  they  told 
him  that  his  mind  was  too  critical;  and,  tho  they  did 
not  say  so,  they  evidently  thought  that  it  was  too  con- 
scientious. They  told  him  that  he  need  not  accept 
every  specific  statement  or  word  of  the  confession  of 
the  Church — only  the  general  system  unfolded  in  it. 
They  evidently  told  him  this  because  feeling  vaguely, 
tho  not  divining  clearly,  some  such  conception  of  re- 
vealed truth  as  is  brought  out  in  this  volume.  Never- 
theless, as  this  truth  had  never  been  formulated  or 
formally  accepted  by  their  church,  the  student  whom 
they  were  seeking  to  influence  could  not  reconcile  their 
argument  with  honest  adherence  to  their  own  profest 
principles.  As  he  said  once,  "I  fail  to  see  how  one 
who  calls  himself  a  liberal  Christian  can  be  anything 
but  a  hypocrit."  The  proportion  of  ordinary  preachers 
who  are  liberal  Christians  is  much  greater  than  of 
theological  professors.  To  the  kind  of  mind  repre- 
sented by  this  theological  student — inflexibly  logical 
in  its  processes — all  such  preachers — and  they  include 
many  of  the  most  honest  and  earnest  that  the  world 
holds — appear  to  be  hypocrits.  Could  anything  be 
more  important  for  them,  or  for  the  many  whom  they 


ORTHODOXY  AND  TOLERATION  325 

might  influence  for  good,  than  to  have  proved,  and  gen- 
erally accepted,  a  theory  such  as  is  unfolded  in  this 
book?  According  to  this  theory,  liberal  Christianity 
is  the  only  logical  Christianity — the  only  system  con- 
sistent with  a  clear  understanding  of  the  suggestive 
nature  of  all  truth  that  is  inspired. 

The  connection  will  be  recognized  between  what  has 
just  been  said  and  another  problem  for  which  the 
theory  of  this  book  furnishes  a  solution.  It  concerns 
the  methods  in  which  one  can  reconcile  complete  ad- 
herence to  his  own  religious  opinions  with  complete 
toleration  for  those  of  others.  These  two  attitudes  of 
mind  are  found,  at  present,  among  large  numbers,  es- 
pecially in  our  own  country.  But  even  here  it  is  felt 
by  not  a  few  that  the  condition  is  due  solely  to  the 
force  of  circumstances.  These  have  brought  together 
so  many  of  divergent  views  that  it  has  become  neither 
feasible  nor  possible  for  those  of  one  belief  to  ostracize 
or  persecute  those  of  another.  It  does  not  seem  to 
occur  to  some  that,  irrespective  of  such  circumstances, 
toleration  may  be  a  matter  of  principle,  logically  re- 
sulting from  a  correct  understanding  of  the  nature  of 
inspired  truth  itself.  If  this  were  presented  in  forms 
dictatorial,  explicit,  and  infallible  in  expression,  the  in- 
dividual or  church  possessing  it  might  be  justified  in 
using  not  only  persuasion,  but  force  upon  all  who 
doubted,  rejected,  or  ignored  it.  But  the  moment  that 
one  comes  to  think  that  this  truth,  owing  to  its  very 
nature,  must  be  imparted  by  way  of  suggestion,  his 


326        THE  PSYCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

method  of  causing  the  world  to  receive  it  will  be  con- 
fined to  an  appeal  to  thought.  A  suggestion,  like  a 
puzzle,  not  only  gives  every  one  who  hears  it  an  inde- 
pendent right  to  interpret  it  in  his  own  way,  but  is 
more  likely  to  be  solved  in  the  right  way  in  the  degree 
in  which  every  one  who  hears  it  has  been  allowed  to 
contribute  his  share  toward  its  solution. 

Ay,  when  men  desire  the  whole  truth,  each  one's  nature  like  a  chart 

Shall  unfold  to  show  what  only  all  together  can  impart, 

Till  that  time,  though  those  about  us  vie  to  be  the  foes  of  truth, 

Let  it  be  its  own  defender ;  they  will  learn  in  time,  forsooth, 

How  much  more  may  spring  to  light,  where  only  wondering  fancies 

teem, 

Than  where  listlessness  in  stupor  slumbers  on  without  a  dream; 
How  much  more  may  be  discerned,  where  love  too  lightly  waives  dis- 
trust, 
Than  where   mad  intolerance  gags  a  pleading   doubt  with   naught 

discust. 
They  will  learn  that  wise  men  find  that  minds  when  trusted  most, 

confess 
Where  are  hid  the  springs  of  thought  which  he  who  moves  them  needs 

to  press, 
Learn  that  those  who  war  with  words  must  heed,  ere  crown'd  with 

victory , 

Both  the  right  array'd  against  them,  and  the  wrong  ;  for  charity, 
First  in  logic  as  in  worship,  leads  the  mind's  triumphant  train. 
'Tis  the  Christ,  not  Aristotle,  holds  the  scepter  of  the  brain. 

A  Life  in  Song:  Watching,  XIX:  Raymond. 

Another  problem  closely  connected  with  the  one 
just  considered  is  how  to  reconcile  in  the  minds  of 
others  who  differ  from  ourselves  their  acceptance  of 
what  they  can  believe  in  our  system  of  truth  without 
the  rejection  of  what  they  must  continue  to  believe  in 
their  own.  In  this  age  many  of  us  are  constantly 
brought  into  contact  with  adherents  of  religions 


NEW  RELIGION  AND  OLD  TRUTH          327 

both  older  and  younger  than  ours  are — with  Hebrews, 
Buddhists,  Confucianists,  Mohammedans,  Mormons, 
Spiritists,  Christian  Scientists,  and  so  on.  It  is  well- 
nigh  impossible  for  one  who  has  much  knowledge  of 
human  nature,  or  confidence  in  it,  to  suppose  that  any 
of  these  systems  contain  nothing  except  what  is  false. 
They  must  all  contain  some  truth  or  they  could  not 
appeal  to  the  mind  with  the  authority  of  truth.  Why, 
then,  do  some  of  these  systems  tend — as  can  be  proved 
of  them,  as,  in  fact,  can  be  proved  of  some  forms  of 
Christianity — to  error  both  in  theory  and  practise — 
error,  too,  which,  as  rational  humanitarians,  to  say  no 
more,  we  sometimes  deem  it  our  duty  to  try  to  cor- 
rect? Why,  but  because,  in  connection  with  the  truth 
that  is  in  them  there  is  some  untruth?  How  can  we 
best  correct  this  latter  and  prevent  its  deleterious  ef- 
fects? Is  it  by  attacking  the  whole  body  of  truth  in 
which  those  whom  we  seek  to  influence  believe?  This 
would  merely  cause  us  to  lose  all  influence  with  them. 
It  would  not  unfrequently  necessitate  our  including, 
among  other  things  declared  by  us  to  be  untrue,  cer- 
tain things  which  their  own  experience  has  proved  to 
themselves,  at  least,  to  be  the  contrary.  If  we  wish 
to  influence  them,  must  we  not  admit  the  fact  that 
they  are  in  possession  of  some  truth?  At  first  thought 
the  admitting  of  this  may  seem  simple  enough;  but, 
on  second  thought,  we  shall  find  the  ground  on  which 
we  can  base  the  admission  extremely  difficult  to  ex- 
plain either  to  ourselves  or  to  others.  It  is  difficult 


328        THE  PSYCHOL 0 G  Y  OF  INSPIRA  TION 

because  sometimes  the  very  untruth  which  we  deem  it 
important  to  refute  is,  or  is  believed  to  be,  an  organic 
part  of  the  system  which  they  consider  to  be  revealed. 
Our  arguments  against  uncharity,  zeal  not  according 
to  knowledge,  unreasonable  bigotry,  superstitious  for- 
malism, or  the  prevention  of  contagious  diseases  by 
faith  might  be  convincing  were  it  not  one  of  the' 
very  things  supposed  to  be  taught  by  being  revealed. 
If  it  be  taught  thus,  or  is  believed  to  be  taught  thus, 
what  is  to  be  done?  Nothing  can  be  done,  and  done 
successfully,  unless  we  can  get  people  to  perceive  that 
the  essential  character  of  revelation  is  the  imparting 
of  truth  by  way  of  suggestion.  When,  and  only  when 
they  perceive  this,  will  they  begin  to  perceive  that  it 
is  essential  that  they  should  use  their  own  minds  in 
receiving  truth;  then  only  will  they  begin  to  compare 
different  utterances,  and  the  bearings  of  each,  and  the 
logical  connections  between  them;  and  then  only  may 
we  expect  them,  finally,  to  arrive  at  that  to  secure 
which  is  one  of  the  reasons  why  the  revelation  is  made 
suggestive,  namely,  a  rational  conclusion.  Indeed, 
until  in  some  way  they  have  been  brought  to  realize 
that  it  is  the  function  of  inspiration  to  influence  mind, 
which  is  the  same  as  to  say  to  influence  thinking,  they 
will  not  exercise  thought,  or,  as  we  say,  common 
sense,  when  deciding  what  they  should  believe  or  do. 
The  effect  upon  the  world  of  not  thinking,  when 
manifested  by  large  numbers  of  people,  furnishes  the 
worst  possible  menace  to  all  that  makes  for  peace, 


SPIRITUALITY  AND  RATIONALITY        329 

enlightenment  or  progress.  No  animal  is  more  dumb 
than  a  rational  man  when  he  becomes  the  slave  of 
any  theory  that  seems  to  justify  his  acting  irration- 
ally. Nor  is  it  easy  to  perceive  how  a  religious  man 
can  be  prevented  from  feeling  justified  in  acting  thus 
by  any  other  theory  of  revelation  than  the  one  pre- 
sented in  this  volume. 

Just  here  it  would  not  be  strange  if  some  should  be 
inclined  to  feel,  notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  said 
in  this  book  of  spirituality  and  faith,  that,  in  some 
way,  they  have  been  unduly  subordinated  to  certain 
supposed  requirements  of  rationality  and  intelligence. 
For  the  benefit  of  such  it  seems  well  to  show  now  that 
the  theory  here  presented  is  the  only  one  that  can 
satisfactorily  reconcile  all  these.  This  can  be  done  by 
causing  the  reader  to  recognize  that  what  is  really  an- 
tagonistic to  spirituality,  as  a  condition  of  mind,  is 
not  rationality,  but  materialism;  and  that  what  is 
really  antagonistic  to  faith,  as  a  motive,  is  not  in- 
telligence, but  a  presumption  of  knowledge,  which  is 
the  very  thing  in  which  many  a  man,  for  the  very 
reason  that  he  is  intelligent,  does  not  indulge. 

In  order  to  accomplish  our  purpose,  let  us  begin  by 
getting  as  clear  an  idea  as  possible  of  what  spirituality 
is,  and  of  what  is  the  connection  between  it  and  faith. 
A  trustworthy  conception  of  the  former  can  perhaps  be 
best  obtained  from  what  is  probably  the  earliest  at- 
tempt to  explain  it.  In  Rom.  8;  5,  the  Apostle  Paul 
says:  "They  that  are  after  the  flesh  do  mind  [i.e., 


330        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

seek,  serve,  obey]  the  things  of  the  flesh,  but  they  that 
are  after  the  spirit  the  things  of  the  spirit."  In  this 
passage  men  are  not  divided  according  to  their  external 
religious  affiliations.  So  far  as  the  terms  seem  capable 
of  interpretation,  either  the  "material"  or  the  "spiri- 
tual" may  be  found  among  Catholics,  Presbyterians,  or 
Friends,  or,  for  that  matter,  among  Mohammedans, 
Buddhists,  or  Confucianists.  According  to  the  apostle's 
use  of  the  word,  the  one  test  dividing  the  two  classes 
is  that  some  "mind"  the  things  of  the  flesh,  and  that 
others  "mind"  the  things  of  the  spirit;  or,  as  the  verse 
preceding  this  puts  it,  "walk  after  the  flesh"  or  "after 
the  spirit."  What  is  meant  by  such  phraseology  is 
clear  enough.  We  all  recognize  the  classes  to  whom 
it  refers.  There  are  certain  people  in  the  world  who 
walk  after  the  flesh — i.e.,  who,  in  the  courses  which  they 
pursue,  aim — not  invariably,  perhaps,  but  as  a  rule-- 
to secure  the  pleasure,  comfort,  and  welfare  of  their 
physical  bodies.  They  indulge  its  appetites  and  lusts, 
if  not  by  way  of  gluttony,  then  of  greed,  constantly, 
in  disregard  of  the  claims  of  others,  adding  to  their 
possessions  in  the  physical  world  about  them,  and  thus 
increasing  their  influence  on  what  may  be  termed  the 
physical  plane.  There  are  others  who  do  the  contraiy. 
In  the  courses  which  they  pursue  in  life,  they  aim- 
not  invariably,  perhaps,  but  as  a  rule — to  secure  the 
pleasure,  comfort,  and  welfare  of  that  within  them 
which  does  not  pertain  to  the  body.  They  are  con- 
scious of  thoughts  and  emotions  tending  to  certain 


SPIRITUALITY  331 

ideals  and  aspirations  which  give  a  man  a  distaste  for 
the  results  of  appetite  and  lust ;  i.e.,  give  him  a  conscious- 
ness that  these  thoughts  and  emotions  can  not  enjoy 
free,  unimpeded  exercise  in  case  the  appetites  and  lusts 
be  indulged.  Therefore  such  persons  practise,  as  ap- 
plied to  the  latter,  what  is  termed  self-denial.  Be- 
sides this,  the  same  thoughts  and  emotions  lead  to  a 
sense  of  sympathy  and  responsibility  for  others,  which 
give  a  man  a  distaste  for  the  results  of  greed  aimed  at 
increasing  one's  own  possessions  at  the  expense  of  his 
neighbors,  or  aimed,  at  least,  at  preventing  the  free, 
unimpeded  exercise  of  that  to  which  his  sense  of  sym- 
pathy or  responsibility  prompts.  Therefore  such  a  per- 
son practises  what  is  termed  self-sacrifice.  The  sickly 
mother  gives  up  her  own  health  to  secure  that  of  her 
child;  the  volunteer  patriot  gives  up  his  own  life  for 
that  of  the  state;  the  foreign  missionary  gives  up  his 
own  home  to  secure  one  for  the  savage.  This  giving 
up  shows  spirituality.  Now  notice  that  it  shows  this 
because  it  assigns  preeminent  importance  not  to  what 
is  without  the  mind,  but  to  what  is  within  it.  The 
physical  body  and  its  physical  surroundings  contain 
things — all  things — that  can  be  seen  or  heard  or  han- 
dled; and  these  are  clearly  outside  the  mind — i.e., 
outside  the  sphere  in  which  thought  and  emotion  are 
experienced.  When  the  materialist  is  aiming  for  these 
things  which  he  can  see,  hear,  or  handle,  and  can  ob- 
tain or  increase  as  a  result  of  clearly  comprehended 
calculation,  he  may  be  said  to  know  them  and,  when 


332        THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INSPIRATION 

he  deals  with  them,  to  be  walking  according  to  knowl- 
edge. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  ideals  and  aspirations,  the 
promptings  of  sympathy  and  responsibility  for  others, 
which  the  spiritual  man  obeys  are  just  as  clearly  inside 
the  mind — i.e.,  inside  the  sphere  in  which  thought  and 
emotion  are  experienced.  Nor  are  all  the  processes  of 
thought  and  emotion  influencing  the  spiritual  man 
inside  the  region  of  his  own  consciousness.  Many  of 
them  are  in  the  subconscious  region.  He  does  not 
always  see — often  he  does  not  care  to  find  out — the 
steps  of  logic,  if  indeed  there  be  any,  behind  that  course 
to  which  his  conscience  or  conviction  directs  him.  He 
does  not  always  see — often  he  does  not  care  to  find 
out — the  material  end  that  his  action  will  attain,  or 
if  any  end  worth  having  in  this  world  be  that  which  it 
will  attain  for  himself.  If  he  be  a  patriot,  for  instance, 
he  goes  where  he  is  by  no  means  assured  that  he  will 
not  meet  his  death.  He  says  that  he  does  so  in  order 
to  serve  his  country.  But  what  will  be  the  use  of  a 
country  to  himself  in  case  he  has  died  for  it?  Why 
does  he  not  go  somewhere  else  and  find  some  other 
country  for  which  it  will  not  be  necessary  for  him  to 
risk  his  life ;  existence  in  which  country,  therefore,  will 
be  sure  to  be  of  use  to  him?  He  certainly  would  do  so 
if  he  were  a  man  who  walked  according  to  merely 
knowledge.  Why  does  he  not  run  away?  Because^ 
so  far  as  concerns  his  actions  in  this  regard,  he  is  a 
spiritual  and  not  a  material  man.  He  is  walking  not 


SPIRITUALITY  AND  FAITH  333 

according  to  knowledge — i.e.,  not  in  a  sphere  in  which 
causes  can  be  ascertained  and  results  calculated; — he 
is  walking  according  to  faith — i.e.,  in  a  sphere  in  which 
one  can  learn  no  more  of  causes  and  results  than  can 
be  obtained  from  the  promptings  of  ideals,  aspirations, 
and  sympathies  which  are  impelling  him  from  within, 
tho,  of  course,  always  in  view  of  such  realities,  ne- 
cessities, and  possibilities  as  seem  to  be  calling  upon 
him  from  without. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  argue  that  all  this  is  the  same 
as  to  say  that  the  promptings,  obedience  to  which  in- 
volves both  spirituality  and  faith,  are  and  must  be- 
as  has  been  shown  to  be  true  with  reference  to  all  in- 
fluence exerted  first  upon  the  inner  mind — suggestive. 
If  they  were  explicit  and  dictatorial  in  character,  men 
would  be  fully  aware  of  what  they  were  expected  to  do. 
They  would  be  controlled  by  the  letter  of  the  law,  not 
by  its  spirit,  or  that  which  is  spiritual  in  the  law.  They 
would  obey  it  without  any  exercise  of  faith,  on  account 
of  knowledge.  The  self-sacrificing  parent,  soldier,  or 
missionary  is  not  influenced  by  considerations  which 
he  can  knowingly  calculate.  He  is  influenced  merely 
by  his  general  determination  to  serve  with  the  best 
motives  and,  as  prompted  by  these,  to  the  best  of  his 
ability,  the  family,  the  state,  or  the  church  which 
need  his  services.  Notice,  however,  that  this  general 
determination  does  not  lessen  the  rationality  or  in- 
telligence with  which  the  determination  is  formed,  or 
put  into  execution.  Nor,  indeed,  does  it  lessen  the 


334        THE  PS YCHOL OGY  OF  INSPIRA TION 

exercise  of  either  of  these  before  he  comes  to  his  deter- 
mination. No  man  can  come  to  a  wholly  rational  or 
intelligent  conclusion  if  he  fail  to  consider  candidly 
and  balance  honestly  against  other  considerations  any 
consideration  that  should  have  weight  in  determining 
his  conclusions.  Who  can  say  that  suggestions  from 
the  subconscious  mind  should  not  be  included  among 
these  considerations?  Are  not  men  rational  and  in- 
telligent when,  in  fulfilment  of  the  promptings  of 
conscience,  aspiration,  or  sympathy,  they  become  self- 
sacrificing  parents,  soldiers,  and  missionaries?  Ac- 
cordingly, we  perceive  that  it  is  not  the  material,  but 
the  spiritual  man,  not  the  man  who  walks  wholly  ac- 
cording to  knowledge  because  of  information  that  can 
be  dictated,  but  the  man  who  walks  according  to  faith 
also  because  of  thought  or  feeling  that  is  suggested, 
who  exhibits  such  rationality  and  intelligence  as  is  in- 
fluenced to  the  greatest  degree,  and  from  the  greatest 
number  of  sources. 

There  are  other  religious  problems  for  which  the 
theory  presented  in  this  book  seems  to  furnish  a  satis- 
factory solution.  But  they  need  not  be  considered 
here.  All  can  be  included,  in  a  general  way,  among 
those  that  have  been  mentioned. 

It  only  remains  for  the  author  now  to  write  a  single 
concluding  sentence.  Perhaps  he  may  be  excused  for 
putting  it  in  this  form — that  if  his  readers  can  not 
accept  the  premises,  the  methods,  or  the  conclusions 
of  his  volume,  nevertheless  a  sufficient  excuse  for  the 


CONCLUSION  335 

writing  of  it  will  be  furnished  to  himself,  if  only  it 
have  so  emphasized  the  general  subject  as  to  convince 
thoughtful  men  of  its  supreme  importance;  and  if  only, 
influenced  by  an  endeavor  to  correct  whatever  in  the 
argument  seems  misleading,  some  wiser  man  than  he 
shall  let  the  world  know  why  the  theory  that  has  here 
been  presented  is  wrong,  and  why  some  other  theory 
is  right. 


INDEX 


ABSOLUTE  right,  311;  truth,   17,  25, 

33-35,  43,  45,  132,  151,  311. 
Accuracy  of  Bible  and   Sacred   Wri- 

tings, 4-6,  307,  308,  322. 
A  life  in  song,  326. 
Ambiguity  in  Bible  and  Sacred  Wri- 

tings, 4-7,  179,  180. 
Ancestral  worship,  294,  295,  298. 
Animal  mental  action,  81-85. 
Apparitions,  67,  68,  73,  77,  86-89;  see 

Spirits. 

Appearances;  see  Forms. 
Appetites,  higher  and  lower,  249,  250. 
Aquinas,  x.,  132. 
Arguments  of  Bible,  31-33. 
Arnold,  Matthew,  80. 
Associations,  mental  and  ethical  influ- 

ence of,  255-258. 
Augustine,  x. 
Authority,  used  to  control  religious  or 

church  belief  or  practise,   179-186, 

214-229,  296,  297. 

BACON,  F.,  273. 

Bible,  arguments  in,  31-33;  develop- 
ment of  truth  in  revelation  in,  153; 
history  in,  28,  29;  injunctions  in,  33- 
36;  literalism  in,  41-43;  prophesy  in, 
29-31;  rational  interpretation  of, 
162-168;  truth  as  represented  in, 
28-40;  see  Scriptures  and  Sacred 
Writings. 

Biblical  communications  analogous  to 
those  of  nature,  170-172;  state- 
ments suggestive  not  dictatorial, 
169-177;  susceptible  of  misinterpre- 
tation, 105,  106;  views  of  spiritism, 
100,  297,  298. 

Blind  Tom,  64. 

Buddha,  203,  295,  297,  299. 

Buddhists,  302,  304. 


,  x.,  132. 

Candor  in  theological  discussions,  xi. 
Cathedral  services,  233. 
Catholic  Church,  218,  220-222. 
Certainty  claimed  when  suggestion  is 

experienced,  206,  207. 
Character,  personal,  chief  source  of  re- 

ligious influence,  259-262,  272;  see 

Example  and  Personality. 
Changes  in  truth  and  opinion,  12,  41-45. 
Children  and  truth,  49. 
Christ,  the,  as  influencing  faith  and 

character,  240,  242,  258-264,  269- 

274,  282-284,  289,  301;  humanity  of, 


and  doctrine  of  Trinity,  194,  195; 
influence  of,  in  salvation,  192-205; 
miraculous  birth  of,  195-198. 

Christian  life,  236-246. 

Christianity,  benefited  by  other  re- 
ligions, 299-300;  historic,  as  an  ar- 
gument for  church  unity,  224-226; 
its  peculiarity,  301,  302. 

Church,  a  means  not  an  end,  211,  212; 
and  scientists,  321-323;  attendance 
on,  181,  182;  effect  on  character  of 
its  services,  258-264;  external  unity 
of,  218,  219,  224-227,  286;  history 
of,  215,  216,  224-226;  Us  discipline, 
dogmas,  and  worship,  210-246;  its 
exercise  of  authority,  179,  180,  214- 
229,  296,  297;  its  influence  on  con- 
duct, 259-264;  on  faith,  277-286; 
on  opinion,  213-229;  on  thought, 
216-218,  285,  286;  preaching,  272; 
uniformity  detrimental  to  senti- 
ment and  character,  218-229;  primi- 
tive form  of,  226,  227;  Scriptural 
conception  of,  212. 

Church-membership,  320-325;  require- 
ments for,  246,  320,  321. 

Churchill,  .1.  W.,  64. 

Coburn,  63. 

Coleridge,  34,  58. 

Compilation  in  Bible  may  be  inspired, 
158-161. 

Conduct, influence  on, of  the  church  and 
religipn,  218-222,  236-246,  256-264. 

Confessions;  see  creeds. 

Conformity,  religious,  218-229. 

Confucius,  295,  299. 

Confucianists,  302,  304. 

Conscience,  248,  249,  250-256,  261, 
262,  266-268,  276,  311,  312. 

Conscious  and  subconscious  spheres  of 
mind,  55-106;  influence  of  conscious 
over  subconscious  intellection,  92— 
100, 147-156;  relation  to  conscience, 
248-254;  to  faith,  266-268,  275,  284, 
285,  314;  see  Spiritual. 

Consciousness;  see  Conscience  and 
Conscious. 

Contradiction  in  the  Bible,  307-309; 
see  Inaccuracy. 

Conversion,  116,  120,  271-274;  through 
hypnotism,  117,  118. 

Creation,  explained  by  hypnotism,  119, 
120;  by  psychometry,  160. 

Creeds,  26,  28;  as  repeated  in  church, 
236;  origin  of,  184-186;  use  of  in 
churches,  179-181. 


337 


338 


INDEX 


Crime,  details  of,  should  not  be  pub- 
lished, 256,  257. 
Cumont,  F.,  130. 

DARK  AGES,  185,  241. 

Desires  higher  and  lower  as  related  to 
conscience,  249-253. 

Development  of  character,  40;  of  truth 
in  the  Bible  revelation,  153. 

Discipline  in  the  Church.  236-246. 

Distance,  occult  perception  of,  65-68. 

Dogmas,  26,  28. 

Dogmatism,  as  connected  with  au- 
thority, 213-229;  with  considering 
Biblical  truth  suggestive,  178-209; 
with  conserving  truth,  40-42;  with 
external  organization,  211,  212; 
with  faith,  277-286;  with  hymns 
and  rituals,  232-236. 

Doubt,  a  means  of  grace,  40. 

EDUCATION,  effect  of,  on  mental  con- 
scious action,  77,  78,  93,  94;  in 
countries  with  unreformed  churches, 
195;  of  the  young,  255-258. 

Environment,  effects  of  on  methods  of 
accepting  and  expressing  truth,  145- 
156;  influence  of  on  the  young,  255- 
258. 

Evil  spirits,  worship  of,  293,  294. 

Expression  of  suggested  or  inspired 
truth,  110-115,  135-156. 

Example,  importance  of,  258-264. 

FAITH,  27,  42,  45,  116,  207,  265-286; 
accepts  truth  as  suggestive,  207, 
266-271,  283-286,  312-318;  and 
hypn9tism,  116;  and  knowledge,  155, 
156;  in  dictates  of  conscience,  311, 
312;  influenced  by  dogmas,  265,  266; 
normal  and  necessary  to  mental  ac- 
tion, 313-317;  reconciled  to  ration- 
ality, 329-334;  versus  knowledge, 
122-124,  155,  156,  331-334. 

Fever,  as  influencing  thought,  58. 

Fidelity,  a  characteristic  of  faith,  275. 

Finite  truth,  34,  36,  45. 

Forms,  truth  in,  11-14, 18, 20, 24, 26, 41. 

Formulas,  16,  35,  38,  183;  see  Forms. 

Freedom  of  thought,  216-218;  char- 
acteristic of  a  religion  founded  on 
faith,  116,  119,  122-124,  284-286; 
intended  to  be  produced  by  Bible, 
285,  286. 

French  attitude  of  mind  toward  re- 
ligion, xi.,  220,  221. 

GENIUS  and  subconscious  intellection, 
149. 

HABITS,  254-256. 

Hamilton,  Sir  W.,  314. 

Hebrews,  302. 

Herder,  30. 

Hero  Worship,  294,  295. 

Historic    Christianity,    argument    for 

one  church  from,  224-226. 
History,  use  of  in  Bible,  28,  29. 


Hudson,  T.  J.,  102,  116. 

Humanity  of  the  Christ,  194,  195; 
conception  of  lessened  by  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Trinity,  194,  195. 

Humanitarian  effects  of  the  Church, 
195,  244-246. 

Hymns,  208,  209,  232-235;  see  Wor- 
ship. 

Hypnotism,  59,  60,  109-120,  239,  261, 
266-269,  271;  allied  to  faith,  112- 
114;  explaining  conversion.  116-118, 
120;  creation,  119,  120;  life  after 
death,  121;  spiritual  life  of  Christian, 
118,  119;  unity  of  Christ  and  be- 
lievers, 118;  what  are  its  methods, 
112-114;  what  truth  is  obtained 
through  it,  146-151;  why  it  explains 
inspiration  and  revelation,  109-114. 

IDEALS,  156;  in  Christianity,  283-286; 
in  philosophy  and  science,  315. 

Imitation  of  leaders  in  religion  and 
Christianity,  246,  263,  264,  282-284. 

Immaculate  conception,  195-198. 

Immortality;  see  Life  after  Death. 

Inaccuracy  of  Bible  and  Sacred  Wri- 
tings, 4-6,  307-309. 

Inference,  logical,  as  interpreting  the 
Bible,  166-168. 

Injunctions  of  the  Bible,  how  stated, 
33,  34. 

Insight,  intuitive,  as  interpreting  the 
Bible,  165,  166. 

Inspiration,  4,  6;  doctrine  of  Biblical, 
186-190,  285;  meaning  of  term,  52- 
55;  results  modified  by  conscious  in- 
tellection, 95,  96;  results  allied  to 
those  of  hypnotism,  98,  109-132, 
140-156;  see  Sacred  Writings. 

Instinct,  78,  79. 

Instinctive  mental  action,  79-81. 

Interpretation  of  the  Bible,  historic, 
scientific,  literary,  139-142;  rational, 
161-168. 

JAMES,  W.,  313,  314. 

Japan,  rationality  in,  304,  305. 

Jessen,  60. 

Joy  of  the  Christian  life,  238-246. 

KEPLER,  62. 
King,  H.  O.,  320. 

Knowledge  of  God,  45-50;  versus 
faith,  124,  155,  156,  331-334. 

LANGUAGE;  see  Words. 

Last  Supper,  194,  280,  281. 

Lessing,  39. 

Letter  and  spirit,  122-124, 154-156,333. 

Liberalism  in  early  Christian  church, 
287-289;  in  the  modern  church,  322- 
325;  reconciled  with  loyalty  to 
church,  320-325. 

Life  after  death,  belief  in,  73-77,  290- 
293;  not  attributable  to  imagina- 
tion, 290-292;  similar  views  of,  291, 
292;  suggestions  concerning,  from 
hypnotism,  121. 


INDEX 


339 


Lincoln,  religious  views  of,  320;  premo- 
nition of,  70. 
Literalism,  41-43,  118,  137,  141-146, 

177,  285,  286,  333. 
Literary  interpretation   of   Scripture, 

140-146. 
Logic,  subconscious,  60-64,   113,  120, 

147,  248-254,  266-268,  278-284,  314, 

315. 
Logical  inference  in  interpreting  the 

Bible,  166-168. 
Love,  as  related  to  faith,  118;  to  truth, 

46-48. 

Ludlow,  J.  M.,  66. 
Luther,  x. 

MALEBRANCHE,  39. 

Marryat,  F.,  58. 

Marshall,  H.  R.,  78. 

Mason,  R.  O.,  107. 

Materialist,  97,  330-333. 

Materializing  effects  on  spiritual  truth 

of  expression,  134-139,  175-177. 
Mathematical,     subconscious     mental 

action,  60-64. 
Mediums,  5,  6,  53,  69,  71-73,  85-91, 

94,  96-106,  268;  see  Spiritism. 
Memory,  57,  58,  248,  254,  275. 
Method  of  operation  constitutes  the 

truth,  13-24,  28-35. 
Michelangelo,  36. 
Mind-reading,  70.  71. 
Ministry,  diminishing  numbers  enter- 
ing, viii.;  not  Christlike,  xii.,  xiii. 
Miraculous  birth  of  the  Christ,   195- 

198. 
Missionary  effort  not  discredited   by 

liberal  views,  300,  301. 
Mithras,  sacraments  of,  130. 
Modern  thought,  ix.,  x. 
Mohammed,  9i,  203,  296,  299. 
Mohammedanism,  90,  91,  99,  298,  302. 
Mormon,  99. 

Moses,  W.  S.,  71;  the  prophet,  296,  299. 
Mozart,  63. 
Mliller,  75. 

Music,  church,  232-235. 
Musical,  subconscious  proficiency,  63. 
Myths,    illustration  of  origin  of,  128- 

132. 

NEVIUS,  J.  L.,  73. 

Negro,  occult  mental  action  of,  85. 

OCCULT  sphere  of  the  mind,  55-95;  see 

Subconscious. 
Organization,  necessary  in  the  church, 

228. 

PARABLES  of  Bible,  purpose  of,  32,  37. 

Parses,  302. 

Personality,  its  influence  in  Chris- 
tianity and  faith,  112-118,  241,  242, 
258,  264,  267-269,  270,  272,  277. 
282-284;  that  of  God,  190,  191. 

Pierce,  Dr.  C.  N.,  85. 

Practicality  in  determining  truth,  309- 
318. 


Pragmatism,  309-318. 

Prayers,  232,  235,  236;  see  Worship. 

Preaching.  229,  272. 

Premonitions,  69,  70. 

Progress,  40-44,  317.  318. 

Prophecy  and  premonition,  69,  70;  use 

of,  in  Bible,  29,  30. 
Protestant,  96;  Reformation,  x.,  183, 

185;    influence    on    education    and 

character,  195,  219-223. 
Psychometry,  160. 
Punishment,  ethereal,  204,  205. 

RATIONALISM,  xiv. 

Rationality,  and  self-defense,  260;  in 
interpreting  the  Bible,  158-168; 
necessary  in  the  seer,  155,  156;  to 
develop  this  in  man  the  object  of 
life,  172-175;  reconciled  with  faith 
and  spirituality,  329-334. 

Reason  reconciled  with  revelation, 
318-320. 

Reformation,  Protestant,  x.,  183,  185, 
186;  influence  on  education  and 
character,  195,  219-223. 

Religions,  all  similar,  129-131,  202- 
204;  attitude  of  early  Christian  to- 
ward non-Christian,  287-289;  Chris- 
tianity benefited  by  truth  in  other, 
299,  300;  truth  in  all,  288-299,  327. 

Repetition,  effects  of  on  habits  and 
character,  257-258. 

Responsibility  for  promptings  of  con- 
science, 254-258. 

Revelation,  54,  55;  reconciled  with 
reason,  318-320;  see  Inspiration. 

Revivals,  272,  273,  281. 

Rites,  effects  of,  on  faith,  277-286. 

Rituals,  182,  229-236;  see  Worship 
and  Words. 

SACRAMENTS,  213;  of  Mithras,  130. 

Sacred  Writings,  danger  of  literal  in- 
terpretation of,  105,  106;  differ  from 
spiritist  communications,  105;  in- 
accuracy in,  4—6;  inspiration  of,  186— 
190,  285;  method  of  interpretation 
of,  140,  161-168. 

Salvation  Army,  242;  as  the  aim  of 
Christianity,  240;  plan  of,  198-202. 

Schism,  effects  of,  on  thought  and  life, 
211,  223,  224. 

Scientific,  literary,  and  religious  use  of 
words,  141-145;  system,  14. 

Scientists,  attitude  toward  religion, 
xii.,  xiii.,  321-323. 

Scriptures,  danger  of  literal  interpre- 
taton  of,  105,  106;  differ  from 
spiritist  communications,  105;  inac- 
curacy in,  5;  inspiration  of,  186- 
190,  285;  method  of  interpretation 
of,  140,  161-168;  see  Bible,  Biblical, 
and  Writings. 

Seance,  88,  89,  297. 

Self-preservation,  instinct  of  com- 
pared to  conscience,  251,  252. 

Sentence,  represents  a  method  of  op- 
eration, 21,  22. 


340 


INDEX 


Shakespeare,  141,  142. 

Signs  and  wonders  not  proving  divine 
power,  99,  100. 

Sincerity  not  truth,  42,  43,  311. 

Space,  apprehension  of  truth  in,  10-13. 

Spencer,  14. 

Spirits,  communication  with,  297,  298; 
worship  of  good  and  evil,  293,  294; 
see  Apparitions,  Life  After  Death, 
and  Spiritism. 

Spiritism,  53,  72,  98-106;  and  Chris- 
tianity, 105,  106,  297,  298;  its  testi- 
monies with  reference  to  spirit- 
world  similar,  129,  130;  its  trances, 
87-89,  91;  Scriptural  references  to, 
100,  297,  298;  see  Mediums. 

Spiritual,  in  this  book,  xiv.;  life,  27; 
meaning  of,  52-55;  subject  to  law, 
111;  truth  can  not  be  communicated 
except  suggestively,  175-177. 

Spiritualism;  see  Spirits  and  Spiritism. 

Spirituality,  definition  of,  329-334; 
reconciled  with  rationality,  329-334; 
world  similarly  described  among  all 
nations,  129,  130. 

Sterrett,  J.  M.,  310. 

Subconscious,  contrasted  with  con- 
scious sphere  of  mind,  55-95,  147- 
156;  degree  of  truth  obtainable 
from,  146-151,  248,  249,  266,  268, 
314-318;  relation  to  conscience,  248- 
256;  to  faith,  266-268,  275,  284-286, 
314;  see  Logic. 

Suggested  truth,  as  related  to  dogmat- 
ism, 178-209;  as  related  to  faith, 
116,  207,  266-271,  283-286.  314-318; 
form  and  significance  in,  134-157. 

Suggestion,  effects  in  influencing  mind 
and  character,  122,  123,  154:  effects 
in  stimulating  study,  126,  127;  ef- 
fects upon  progress,  171  317-326; 
its  influence  in  conversion,  117;  in 
faith,  116;  in  hypnotism,  112;  in  in- 
spiring through  truth,  107-133;  in 
reconciling  absolute  with  limited 
truth,  309-318;  in  reconciling  con- 
tradictions and  inaccuracies  with  in- 
spired writing,  307-309;  reconciling 
liberalism  and  church  loyalty,  320- 
325;  reconciling  new  truth  with  old 
traditions,  326-329;  reconciling  or- 
thodoxy with  toleration,  325-326; 
revelation  with  reason,  318-320; 
spirituality  and  faith  with  ration- 
ality and  intelligence,  329-334. 
Suggestive,  not  dictatorial,  character 
of  Biblical  statements,  169-177,  183; 
making  Biblical  ,  communications 
analogous  to  those  in  nature,  170- 
172;  spiritual  truth  normally  com- 
municated thus,  175-177. 
Swedenborg,  86,  91. 

TENNYSON,  40. 

Theologians  and  candor,  xi.;  future, 

132;  should  study  hypnotism,  112. 
Thought,  repression  of  its  expression, 

216-218;  see  Freedom  of  Thought. 


Time,  apprehension  of  truth  of  nature 
in,  11-13. 

Toleration,  325,  226;  reconciled  with 
orthodoxy,  325,  326. 

Tradition,  as  interpreting  the  Bible, 
162-165. 

Trance  conditions,  87-89,  91. 

Trinity,  129,  192-199,  235. 

True,  its  meaning,  17-24. 

Truth,  and  life,  48-50;  and  love,  46- 
48;  as  absolute,  eternal,  or  infinite, 
17,  25,  132;  as  essential  and  non- 
essential,  2;  as  represented  in  the 
Bible,  28-40;  development  of  rev- 
elation of  in  Bible,  153-156;  in 
methods  of  operation,  13—50;  nature 
of,  9-49;  not  in  outward  forms  or 
formulas,  10-49;  not  in  space  alone, 
11;  not  in  time  alone,  11,  12;  ob- 
tained sometimes  in  hypnotism,  146- 
153;  spiritual,  can  be  communicated 
only  suggestively,  175-177;  use  of 
in  the  Bible,  37-39;  what  it  ex- 
presses in  the  Bible,  28-40. 

Tucker,  Dr.,  65. 

UNCONSCIOUS;  see  Subconscious. 

Uneducated,  the,  particularly,  subject 
to  subconscious  influence,  77,  78, 
85,  86. 

Uniformity  of  Christian  thought  and 
practise  not  desirable,  218-229,  286. 

Unity  of  all  religions,  288-305;  of  the 
Church  intended  to  be  spiritual,  218, 
219,  226,  227,  286;  of  the  spirit  in 
religion,  302-305;  spiritual,  as  illus- 
trated by  analogies  from  hypnotism, 
118,  119,  193. 

Unwritten  Word,  analogy  of  its  form 
and  influence  to  Written  W.,  125, 139. 

VALUE,  as  criterion  of  truth,  309-318. 
Virgin-birth  of  the  Christ,  195-198. 
Voisin,  M.  A.,  117. 
Von  Hartmann,  60. 

WALLACE,  W.  F  ,  150. 

Words,  ambiguity  of  meaning  of,  135- 
137;  origin  of,  136-139;  scientific, 
literary,  and  religious  use  of,  140- 
145;  symbolic  and  illustrative  in 
character,  135-142. 

Wordsworth,  81,  139. 

Worship  of  ancestors,  294,  295;  of 
good  and  evil  spirits,  293-294;  of 
heroes,  294,  295;  in  the  church,  229- 
336;  non-effective  when  dogmatic, 
231-236;  or  irreligious,  209. 

Writing,  automatic,  71,  72,  90,  91. 

Writings,  Sacred,  ambiguity  of,  4-7; 
effect  upon  form  of  religion  where 
they  are  influential,  96;  inaccuracy 
of,  4-6;  see  Bible,  Biblical,  and 
Scriptures. 

YOUNG,  the,  as  influenced  by  associa- 
tion, environment,  arid  reading  de- 
tails of  crime,  256,  257. 

ZOROASTER,  296,  299. 


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